


Copyright 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 































# 






































i 






















































































































. 































































■ 



Things That Happened 

A Collection of Interesting Anecdotes 

Compiled as Vol. I 

OF THE 

BOYS AND GIRLS FIRESIDE SERIES 

j 

/ 

By Af L. BYERS 


GOSPEL TRUMPET COMPANY 

ANDERSON, IND. 



Copyright, 1918, 

GOSPEL TRUMPET COMPANY 


PREFACE 

The Boys and Girls’ Fireside Series is an 
arrangement, in permanent form, of many ex- 
cellent and interesting narratives, trips and 
adventures, little sermons, Bible stories, de- 
scriptions of nature, various industries and for- 
eign customs, bits of biography and history, 
missionary experiences, little poems, etc., that 
have appeared from time to time in the 
SHINING LIGHT, a periodical for children. 
Comparatively few who are now in the transi- 
tory period of childhood have ever read them, 
and it is believed that in this permanent form 
they will be preserved as a treasure-store of 
useful reading in which boys and girls will find 
both pleasure and profit. 



Contents 


Killing a Coyote , •- 7 

A Mid-Air Tragedy 8 

Lost Her Way 9 

A Thoughtless Deed 11- 

Loyalty to Home.— 12 

The Old Scotchman ’s Prayer 13 

Toby 15 

The Chick’s Mission 16 

The Eagle at Niagara 19 

An Indian’s Reverence for His Mother 19 

Moving on Short Notice 21 

Mother Bear and Cubs 22 

Guard-Duty on the Prairie . 23 

Kindness Returned 24 

The Experience of a Cat . 27 

How James Showed True Heroism — 28 

Fifteen Years Without a Birthday 29 

A Screech-Owl’s Misfortune 30 

How a Crippled Boy Served His Country 32 

Joe and the Guinea 33 

Katie’s Sacrifice 35 

How Margaret Was Rescued 36 

Squire 38 

The Snake and the Toad 39 

Keep Away From the Well ; 41 

The Mother Hen and the Hawk 42 

Entertaining a Stranger 44 

Pete, a Brave Elephant 45 

A Christmas Surprize 46 

A Happy Christmas 50 

A Dog’s Faithfulness 51 

About Quails 54 

Caroline ’s Prayers Heard 57 

Saving a Bug’s Life 59 

The Little Janitor 60 

Stealing a Ride 61 

An Imperishable Deed 62 

How Willie’s Foot Was Healed 63 

A Child’s Prayer Answered 64 

"Big James” 67 

Saved by Kneeling 68 

A Little Russian Girl’s Faithfulness 70 

Telegraph to Jesus 71 

Tragic End of Two Bird Families 72 

Experience with a Rattlesnake 75 

A Flower in Prison 76 

Saved from Wolves 78 

A Young Heroine 79 

Saved by Mother’s Prayers 81 

A Courageous Boy 82 

The Match-Box Services 84 

A Mother of Pioneer Days , 85 

Where Was Jack? : 88 

Topsv 90 

An Odd Pet 94 

Ned’s Appreciation of Kindness 95 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


Killing a Coyote 


FEW years ago when my mother lived on a farm (or ranch, as it 



1 ^ is called in Colorado ) , she raised a large number of turkeys. Each 
day these were driven out into the fields to eat the grasshoppers, which 
were very destructive to the crops. The turkeys were fond of grass- 


hoppers. 


When evening came, most of the flock would come slowly back to 
their night-quarters; but a few, usually a hen with her young ones, 
would loiter behind, designing to spend the night under a bush or a 
clump of grain. These strays had to be hunted up and driven home 
or they would never he ,seen again; for the coyotes, which abounded 
in the foot-hills a few miles away, would be sure to scent them and 
make a meal of them during the night. 

Sometimes counting the turkeys was neglected until it was too 
dark to find those which had loitered in the field, and they never came 
back. This was a great loss, as a full-grown turkey was worth three 
dollars or more. 

The turkey-quarters consisted of a high, net-wire fence, enclosing 
a number of trees, a shed, a tall rack, and some coops for the little 
ones. In the evening after the turkeys were all safely enclosed, my 
brother would securely fasten the door for the night. 

One night he did not close the door until late, and he noticed there 
was some commotion inside. He soon discovered there was a large 
coyote trying to get one of the largest turkeys off* the rack. Instead 
of taking a small one that was easier to get, he seemed to be hunting 
big game. My brother hastened to the house and told us there was a 


8 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


coyote in the turkey-pen, and hurriedly got the gun. My sister and 
I lighted the lanterns and hurried out wiitli him, to see Mr. Coyote 
receive his just reward. We were a little timid about being penned 
up in the turkey-park with such an animal, but as we did not want to 
miss a hunt when the game was so sure, we entered with our brother, 
who gave the coyote a good chase, shooting him five times. At last 
the coyote dropped, still looking vicious and infuriated. We found 
one fine, large turkey that he had gotten down and robbed of part of the 
feathers, and two small ones that he had killed, no doubt after being 
shut in. But we were glad to know he would never kill any more of 
them. —Eva M. Wray. 


A Mid-Air Tragedy 

t N THE early days a pioneer minister of Illinois was riding on his 
* circuit, when he noticed a magnificent gray eagle taking its flight 
from a neighboring hill. It evidently had something in its talons, but 
what it was the spectator could not determine. An eagle in flight, its 
mighty wings slowly and victoriously beating the air, was a rare sight 
even in that early day. Stopping his horse, the minister watched the 
great bird with intense interest. 'Wheeling round and round, it at 
last reached a height where it appeared as a mere speck. Just as the 
watcher was about to resume his journey, he fancied the bird was about 
to descend. Soon it was evident that the distance between it and the 
earth was lessening, and that it was passing through a mighty struggle. 
It came nearer and nearer, until within one hundred feet of the ground 
its powerful wings relaxed and the bird fell to the earth a lifeless 
mass. 

Eager to solve a mystery, the minister hastened to the fallen eagle. 
The cause of the mid-air tragedy was explained by the sight of a large 
blacksnake, which was unwinding itself from the neck of the eagle, and 


LOST HIS WAY 


9 


preparing to crawl away. The eagle had evidently tried to carry away 
the snake to some secluded aerie, there to devour it at leisure ; but the 
reptile, coiling himself around the neck of his captor, had strangled it 
in its flight. —The S. S. Illustrator. 


Lost Her Way 

I WAS brought up on a farm one and a half miles from town. When 
only a small child, I went one day with my brothers and sisters to 
school. I was not yet old enough to attend, but throughout the day I 
got along well and enjoyed myself. 

That evening as we were going home, my sister that was three years 
older than I wanted to go ahead of the rest with a girl friend. I, of 
course, wanted to go with them, but Sister thought I should stay back 
with our elder sister. Then they ran ahead. I followed as fast as I 
could, but they were soon out of sight. How, they did not know I was 
trying to follow, but supposed I was back with my elder sister. And 
my elder sister thought I had gone ahead with the girls. So neither 
of them was alarmed about me. 

Between the schoolhouse and our home was a large stream of water, 
which in those days we crossed on a foot-log. When I came to the 
creek, I crossed over all right; but just beyond the creek the road 
divided, one fork leading to town and the other to our home over the 
hill. Being so young and not accustomed to going alone, I took the 
wrong road. I did not realize that I was lost. On and on I went. 
Finally a man on horseback met me and said, “Where are you going, 
little girl?” He thought I was quite small to be traveling alone, but 
as I spoke up bravely and said, “I am going home, sir, ’ ’ he passed on, 
thinking I knew the road. 

Pretty soon I came to a lane where there was water clear across 
the road. I could go no farther, but could see the town from where I 


10 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


was. I remember distinctly thinking that if I could just cross that 
water I should go to town and get me a pair of shoes. I did not have 
a penny with me, but, childlike, I never thought of that. 

When I found that I could not cross over, I turned around and 
started back the way I had come. By this time I knew that I had taken 
the wrong road, but was not at all frightened. I said to myself, “If 
I do not find the right road, I’ll go to a neighbor’s and stay all night.” 

But in the meantime all the other 
children had reached home. When 
they discovered that I had not come 
with any of them, they became greatly 
alarmed and began a search at once. 
Through the woods and everywhere 
they hunted. Knowing I must have 
crossed the creek alone, they feared 
that I had fallen in and had been 
drowned. How sad they all felt ! My 
father got some other men to help him, 
and they waded and dragged the creek, 
searching for me. But still I was not 
to be found. 

By this time I had come to the road 
leading home, and had started up the hill. When I reached the top 
of the hill, I saw an older sister standing under a tree with her bonnet 
in her hand. She was very warm, as she had been running here and 
there searching for me and calling my name. Well do I remember how 
she looked and how glad she was to see me. After telling me to go on to 
the house, she ran down to the creek and hold the men that I was safe. 
There was joy in our home that evening. 

Dear boys and girls, when your little brothers or sisters are entrusted 



LOST HIS WAY 


11 


to your care, do not neglect them. Your doing so might cause you much 
pain and grief if harm should befall them. Remember this lesson that 
my sisters learned that day. 

As I trudged along the roadside that evening, wholly unconscious 
of my danger or of the anxiety I was causing others, I was an example 
of those lost in sin. They carelessly wander on and on, seemingly quite 
unconscious of the fact that the dear loving Savior is calling and plead- 
ing for them to come back to the right road and follow him. Reader, 
are you lost in sin? If so, why will you longer grieve the Savior’s lov- 
ing heart? —Eva Wright. 


A Thoughtless Deed 


N.E SUMMER evening my father sent me with my eldest sister 



and brother after the cows that had strayed from their pasture 
into another man’s field. The sun had been down for a good while, and 
the bright red in the western sky was fast fading into a dark gray. 

We started out at a merry gait, talking freely of the beauties around 
us. We could hear the song of the cricket and the merry chorus of the 
frogs as we passed along. Frequently a whip-poor-will also joined in 
the night-song. How we enjoyed these things! 

Presently a whip-poor-will flitted by us and lit on a fence-post a 
few feet ahead of us. We all stopped very still to hear it sing. Soon 
it began its sweet little song; but it had not been singing very long 
when my brother, a thoughtless, careless lad, picked up a small stone 
near his foot and said , ‘ 1 Look here, girls ; see what a straight marksman 
I am.” Then he threw the stone as swiftly and straight as he could at 
the little songster on the post. Ah! too true was his aim. We heard 
a little flutter and saw that brave little bird fall helpless to the ground. 

My brother, seeing what he had done, ran quickly up to the stump 
and near his feet he found the lifeless little whip-poor-will. How ten- 


12 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


derly he picked it up and stroked its soft, smooth feathers ! ‘ ‘ Poor 

little thing!” he murmured, “I didn’t mean to harm you.” Bat it was 
too late. He. could not give hack the life he had taken. We were all 
very much grieved, and with sad hearts we laid the lifeless form down 
by the roadside. 

The remainder of our walk was not enjoyed so much as the first part. 
Everything seemed sad and dark. We did not care to laugh and play 
any more. That sad event made a lasting impression upon me, and 
since that time I have always tried to be kind to all God’s little 
creatures. 

A thoughtless word may, like the little stone, go straight in its course 
and wound or crush some heart. Our words, when they are said, are 
gone forever, and no matter how hard we may try to call them back, 
we can not do it. Therefore we should watch closely that what we say 
be just what would be pleasing to God. —Alma F. Speirs. 


Loyalty to Home 

A YOUNG girl attending a school some distance from her home was 
^ one day in her room surrounded by companions who were busy 
with embroidery and other fancy work. Some one asked for a needle, 
and the young hostess brought a needle-case. As she offered it, the 
one who had made the request glanced at it with a slight laugh and a 
perceptible lifting of eyebrows. It was an inartistic, old-fashioned, 
homely little needle-case; but its owner drew it back almost as if the 
look had been a blow, and smoothed it with caressing fingers as she 
said, “My mother made it.” 

Love, loyalty, and a touch of defiance were in the words. What did 
these gay girls know of the plain little home and the dear, old-fashioned 
mother Whose toil-worn fingers had sewed the bits of ribbon together 
and shaped them into a gift for her girl? The daughter saw it all as 


THE OLD SCOTCHMAN’S PRAYER 


13 


in a vision. These stylish young friends were good enough, but the old 
home and those it held were dearest treasures on earth, and no sneer 
should touch them or their ways in her presence. Word and action 
showed the fiber of the girl. Had she been weaker or less loving, she 
would have been ashamed of her little possession and the home condi- 
tions it represented; and if she had not disowned or apologized for it, 
she would at least have kept it carefully out of sight thereafter. 

— Selected. 


The Old Scotchman's Prayer 

r>RAYER is a simple but a real interchange between the child and 
A the Father in heaven. The child asks, and the Father gives. Many 
books have been written on the Philosophy of Prayer, but not one has 
made it any clearer than our Lord’s words recorded in Luke 11:9-13. 

Many years ago an old Scotchman, poor, pious, and hard of hearing, 
lived where he seldom heard a sermon. Learning that religious meet- 
ings would be held for several days at a distant place, he journeyed 
toward it on foot. 

On his way he fell in with a young man, and as he also was bound 
to the meetings, the two walked together. As they came near the 
meeting-place, it seemed good to them to halt behind a hedge and offer 
prayer. The old man, a child when he knelt before God, prayed: 

“Lord, ye ken weel enough that I’m deaf, and I want a seat on the 
first bench, if ye can leave me have it, so that I can hear thy Word. 

“And ye see that my toes are sticking through my shoes, and I 
don ’t think it is much to your credit to have your children ’s toes stick- 
ing through their shoes, and therefore I want you to get me a pair of 
new ones. 

“And ye ken I have nae siller, and I want to stay during the meeting, 
and therefore I want you to get me a place to stay.” 


14 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


The young man, shocked at the old man’s familiar way of praying, 
gently suggested that it was hardly the proper thing to approach the 
Almighty as a child would a father. 

“He’s my father,” replied the old man, not accepting the suggestion 
of irreverence; “I’m weel acquainted with him, and he’s weel ac- 
quainted with me; therefore I take great liberties with him.” 

When they arrived at the large tent in which the services were 
held, it was full. For a few minutes the aged man stood in the rear 
of the congregation, making an ear-trumpet of his hand to catch the 
preacher’s words. 

His strained attitude of attention at last attracted the notice of 
some one near the pulpit. The old saint was beckoned forward and 
given a seat on the front bench. 

During the prayer the old man knelt. The reverential posture at- 
tracted a lady’s attention. She saw his worn-out shoes. 

“Are those your best shoes'?” she asked, when he had resumed his 
seat. 

“Yes, but I expect my Father to get me a new pair, very soon.” 

“Come to me after the meeting, and I’ll give you a new pair.” 

At the close of the service she conducted him to her house and gave 
him a pair of shoes. 

“Will you stay through the meeting?” she inquired. 

“I would, but I’m a stranger in the place, and have nae siller.” 

“You are welcome to make my house your home as long as you 
care to remain.” 

The young man learned of his aged friend’s good fortune. And he 
learned more— that even a child’s earnest, simple, direct requests are 
not irreverent when made to the Father in heaven. 

— Youth’s Companion. 


TOBY 


15 


Toby 


OBY was a pet monkey. During our stay at the seaside we visited 



± him daily. Toby was in a cage all by himself, hut he was never 
lonely. He was so amusing and looked so much like a little old man 
that the children— and grown people, too— loved to see his funny, 
wrinkled face and to hear his chatter. 

Some of the people fed him and Were always kind to him. Others 
pushed sticks between the bars of his cage; this made him very cross. 

One day a lad, bolder than the others, poked his smoked eye-glasses 
through the wires. In a moment Toby grabbed them. Then there was 
such a chatter— one would think Toby was saying, “Ah! I fooled you 
this time. ’ ’ The boy ran off, crying and calling at the top of his voice, 
“Oh, come, pa! come quick; the monkey’s got my glasses!” Just then 
Toby set the whole crowd laughing by placing the glasses over his eyes 
and peering through them. As the glasses were smoked ones, he could 
not see clearly, and, thinking they were dirty, he put them under his 
mouth, wet them all over, and dried them on his knee. Then he again 
put them on his eyes, only to find them worse than ever. Just here he 
spied the boy coming back with a stick in his hand, and still crying. 
Jabber ! jabber ! jabber! went the monkey as he smashed the glasses to 
pieces ; and, throwing them into the sawdust at the bottom of his cage, 
he began eating peanuts, as much at ease as if he had never seen a 
crying boy or broken glasses in all his life. 

Another day, when we brought the children over to pay their daily 
visit to Toby, the keeper brought to the cage a dear little rabbit— or 
bunny, as the children call it. “Here, Toby,” said he, “I have been 
up to the house, and before you have dinner, you may play with your 
baby.” Then he opened the door and handed Toby the bunny. I wish 
you could have heard the chattering of that monkey as he hugged and 
danced that bunny ! He would cradle it in his arms, not with the soft 


16 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


cooing with which your mother hushes you to sleep, but with a loud 
jabber ! jabber ! jabber ! Then he would keep quiet for a minute while 
he gazed around at the crowd. Suddenly he would jump up and throw 
the baby to the top of the cage. 

Then the keeper came to take it away. When Toby saw him coming, 
he hid the bunny behind his back. “Hand me the baby,” said the 
keeper. “Jabber! jabber!’’ said the monkey, holding out one empty 
hand. “Show me the other,” said the man. In a second the bunny 
was changed, and Toby held out the other hand, which was now empty. 
Here the keeper became angry. “Toby,” he said in a severe voice, 
“show me your two hands.” But jabber and chatter w!as all Toby did. 
The keeper could not make him hold out both hands. “I have had 
enough of this fooling,” he said, going off to get a whip. 

No sooner was his back turned than Toby jumped to the bottom of 
his cage, dug a hole in the sawdust, and buried the bunny clean out of 
sight. “Get me that baby this minute or you’ll wish you had,” said 
the angry keeper, opening the door and showing Toby the whip. Then 
Toby very quickly dug up his “baby,” and handed it to the keeper. 

“Oh! he has killed it, the poor bunny!” cried several of the children 
who were looking on, almost in tears. 

“No, no,” answered the keeper. 

And then they learned, to their surprize, that the rabbit was only a 
stuffed one. —Exchange. 


THE CHICK’S MISSION 


17 


The Chick’s Mission 

N OT long ago a pretty white hen’s egg was placed in an incubator. 

In that warm place the egg passed through a wonderful change, 
and in three weeks instead of the white and the yolk there was a living, 
breathing creature— a little white chicken. As it emerged from the 
shell, weak, wet, and ugly, it seemed to have little chance of living ; but 
it soon dried, revived, and looked pretty. 

Being the only white chick in the hatch, it attracted the special 
attention of its owner. She noticed that it was nearly always the last 
one to be caught in the evening to be “put to bed.” She sometimes 
wondered what would become of the chick when it became a grown 
chicken, and whether it Would be a hen or a rooster. 

As the days passed by, several of the chick’s 
little mates sickened and died; but it grew 
stronger and larger until it became the liveliest 
member of the flock. But, alas ! one day it met 
a sad fate. While it was picking up crumbs 
about the doorstep, a rattlesnake bit it on the 
leg, and, though efforts were made to save its life, it soon died. 

When bitten, it cried out in fear and pain. Its peculiar and unusual 
cry attracted the attention of the owner, and she called to her husband 
and asked him to find out what had hurt the little chicken. Looking 
out of the door, he saw the venomous reptile lying partly under the 
step. He immediately began planning how' to kill it. He had his wife 
bring the garden hoe. Then he moved the step while she tried to strike 
the snake with the hoe. Being much excited, she missed the rattler, 
and it ran under a box. So the man took the hoe, and he soon cut the 
dangerous creature into pieces. 

When the woman saw that the snake was dead, she cried for joy. 
She was happy, not merely because the poor chick’s destroyer had been 
dispatched, but because her precious little girl, who was in the habit 



18 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


of playing around the step, had not been bitten. “It might have been 
our baby,” sobbed the mother. While she was sorry that her favorite 
little chicken had come to such an untimely death, she was glad that it, 
and not her darling child, had been bitten. Had it not been for the little 
white chicken, the rattler would perhaps have bitten the baby girl, for 
she would soon have been playing around the doorstep. So, to save 
the baby from the snake seems to have been the chick’s mission. 

So much for the story of the chick, the snake, and the baby. Now 
let me tell you another story. Long years ago the whole human family 
was at the mercy of a hideous monster. None could escape him. All 
were in bondage to him. He made them do many things that they 
would rather not have done. They longed for freedom, but there was 
none to deliver. Even the angels could not deliver them. 

God saw the sad condition of mankind, and he pitied them. Finally 
he sent his Son to deliver them from the bondage of the great monster. 
The Son also loved and pitied the people, and he gladly left his heav- 
enly home and came to earth to conquer their enemy and to give them 
liberty. In order to accomplish his mission he had to sutler and die, 
but he willingly gave his life that others might live and enjoy freedom. 
He made a way whereby all might escape the bondage of the monster. 

This hideous monster was sin, and the deliverer was Jesus. Many 
today are in bondage to this terrible creature. In India, in China, in 
Africa, and in other countries, are millions who have never heard of the 
Deliverer. They do not know that they might be free. Even in our 
own country are many who do not know that they might enjoy freedom 
from sin’s bondage. 

Since Jesus has delivered us, should not we, out of gratitude, tell 
others so that they too may enjoy liberty? Not all of us can go to 
foreign lands to tell the story to the heathen, and not all of us can preach 
the gospel to our countrymen, but all of us can tell the good news, and 


THE EAGLE. AT NIAGARA 


19 


also prove it true by living holy lives. And since Jesns gave his life 
for us, should not we be willing to give ours in order to save others? 
We may not, like him, be called upon to give our lives in the sense of 
dying, but we should give them in the sense of serving and sacrificing. 

To save the baby from the snake was the chick’s mission. To con- 
quer sin and to free people from its power was Jesus’ mission. To tell 
others the glad tidings and to help them whenever and however we can 
is our mission. —John W. Lowder. 


The Eagle at Niagara 


N EAGLE was seen on a cake of ice floating in the river above 



Niagara Falls, feeding on a dead lamb. A sleet was falling at 
the time, freezing as it fell. The unconscious eagle, intent upon its 
meal, surveyed the scene, obviously aware of approaching danger, yet 
nothing daunted, expecting to escape the threatening flood by flight. 
The ice was borne into the current, it neared the rapids and then the 
falls. The eagle crouched to mount into the air, but its feathers were 
congealed into fetters. The harmless mist had frozen into bands of 
ice while the eagle was feeding in security. The ice neared the brink ; 
the awful moment came; with frantic fright the huge bird strove to 
force the pinions, but it was bound, and with a piercing shriek of ago- 
nizing terror, it plunged into the merciless abyss. 

This perilous picture will never be forgotten, neither the thought, 
what if the coming of the Lord should find me occupied in earthly 
things, unprepared to meet the Bridegroom of my soul.— Selected. 


An Indian’s Reverence For His Mother 


Q OME years ago there lived in the Territory of Utah, as it was then. 
^ a happy Indian family. This family consisted of father, mother, 
and several children, among whom were two sturdy little boys. Situated 


20 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


on the wiestem slope of the Rockies, they were surrounded by numerous 
ranges of mountains, beautiful forests, clear, glistening lakes, and swift, 
gushing streams. The forests were inhabited by many kinds of game, 
both large and small, and the streams and lakes teemed with fish of 
many different kinds; so these little boys had that which makes the 
hearts of all Indians rejoice— plenty of hunting and fishing. Theirs 
seemed to be a happy and peaceful life. 

But one day all their happiness and pleasures were turned into 
sorrow and gloom. While they were out shooting, one of them acci- 
dentally shot and killed his dear mother. 

The saying, “A boy’s best friend is his mother,” applies as well to 
an Indian mother and son as it does to a white mother and son. 

This poor boy could not he comforted. A self-imposed penalty 
among that tribe of Indians is that if any one kills his mother, even 
though accidentally, he must do penance for the awful deed by lying 
out thirty snows (thirty years) on the ground. This Indian boy began 
doing his penance at once. He lay down on the hare ground in a desert 
place, and nothing could induce him to forsake the foolish custom. His 
faithful brother carried his meals to him day by day, and built a rude 
shelter over him to protect him from the scorching rays of the sun by 
summer and the driving rain and the snow-storms of winter. 

The poor Indian had done twenty-five years of his penance, when 
an acquaintance of ours visited the place, took a photograph of him and 
his brother sitting near by, and learned the sad story of his life. His 
brother said that ofttimes when he took him breakfast in the winter, 
he found the poor fellow , ’s hair frozen to the ground, so that it had to 
be cut loose. 

How sad that this unfortunate Indian could not have heard of the 
Savior, whose love and saving grace give deliverance from all such 
superstition, and would have given him comfort and consolation in the 


MOVING ON SHORT NOTICE 


21 


great loss of his mother! Yet boys who have civilized parents and 
Christian training can learn a good lesson from the great reverence 
and love this poor Indian boy had for his mother. I know of many 
bright, intellectual boys who are unruly and ungrateful, and are break- 
ing their poor mothers’ hearts by their disobedience and ingratitude. 
Oh, how much greater is their crime than that of the Indian boy who 
accidentally killed his mother! and how great would he their punish- 
ment, should death overtake them with these sins unrepented of! 

Let us sincerely hope that all who read this story will profit by this 
poor Indian’s reverence for his mother, and love, respect, and obey 
their dear mothers. They should appreciate the better moral and gospel 

privileges which they enjoy, and 
cease to trample on the hearts of 
their mothers, who never cease to 
pray for them, and never tire of 
doing them good. 

—Eva M. W ray. 


Moving on Short Notice 

\\T H'lLE 1 was lying on the floor 
of an old country log house 
one summer day, near a big, open 
fireplace, I heard a peculiar, fright- 
ened squeak. I rose to see what 
looked like a huge mouse, moving 
at a rapid walk across the room. 
When I got a closer look, I saw that it was a mother mouse moving 
her whole family. At least, I hope there was none left behind ; for very 
soon a small snake, but one large enough to put into a panic the mother 



22 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


of four less than half-grown children, came through the empty fireplace, 
and after the little fugitive. 

The mother mouse had two little mice in her mouth, and fastened 
to each side of her were the other two, apparently holding on with 
their mouths and for “dear life.” 

I killed the snake, and watched the moving family disappear through 
a hole in the comer. 

I do not know whether they returned after a while, or whether the 
father mouse put up a “To Let” sign and joined them in a foreign 
country; but I do know that I saved a happy family. —Exchange. 


Mother Bear and Cubs 

Q PEAKING of law and the enforcement of discipline in Yellowstone 
^ Park, I heard the story of a bear there which I consider exceed- 
ingly important, not only as a comment on the discipline of the park, 
but as a moral lesson in domestic obedience. The story is literally 
true, and, if it were not, I should not repeat it, for it would have no 
value. 

Mr. Kipling says, “The law of the jungle is— obey.” This also 
seems to be the law of Yellowstone Park. There is a lunch-station at 
the Upper Basin, near Old Faithful, kept by a very intelligent and in 
genuous man. He got acquainted, last year, with a she bear, who 
used to come to his house every day and walk into the kitchen for food 
for herself and cubs. The cubs never came. The keeper got on very 
intimate terms with the bear, who was always civil and well-behaved, 
and would take food from his hand (without taking the hand). 

One day toward sunset the bear came to the kitchen, and, having 
received her portion, she went out of the back door to carry it to her 
cubs. To her surprize, the cubs were there waiting for her. She laid 


GUARD DUTY ON THE PRAIRIE 


23 


down the food and rushed at her infants and gave them a rousing spank- 
ing. “She did not cuff them; she spanked them,” and then she drove 
them back into the woods, cuffing and knocking them at every step. 
When she reached the spot where she had told them to wait, she left 
them there and returned to the house; and here she stayed in the 
kitchen for two whole hours, making the disobedient children wait for 
their food, simply to discipline them and teach them obedience. 

This explanation is very natural. When the bear leaves her young 
in a particular place and goes in search of food for them, if they stray 
away in her absence she has great difficulty in finding them. The mother 
knew that the safety of the cubs and her own peace of mind depended 
upon strict discipline in the family. Oh, that we had more such mothers 
in the United States ! —Harper’s Magazine. 


Guard-Duty on the Prairie 

T"x UMB animals often have traits that are next to human. In many 
instances the instinct of animals serves as their best means of 
protection. 

An interesting incident of this kind is related by a traveler in Texas. 
A cow upon the open plains was surrounded by about a dozen calves. 
It seemed so strange that a cow should be upon the plains alone with 
so many calves, that the traveler asked his driver what it meant. 

The driver, being a resident of that country and an old cow-man, 
said: 

“The cow is doing guard-duty to that bunch of calves while their 
mothers are away after water. In this country the water-holes are far 
apart and the grass is thin. In order to get sufficient feed, cattle must 
graze over a wide extent of range, and calves are often born several 
miles distant from the water. The mother cow needs a drink long 


24 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


before her calf is old enough to travel with her to the nearest water- 
hole. So she must leave her young behind while she goes after water. 

“Wolves are so numerous that the calf can not safely he left alone. 
These animals will attack and kill calves several weeks old, if they are 
left unguarded. So, by some sort of understanding, one of the mother 
cows is left to guard a whole bunch of calves while the other cows go 
for water. When the others return, she will leave her own calf in their 
charge and go for her daily drink. On succeeding days the other 
mother cows will take their turn at doing guard-duty. 

“Several years ago,” the cow-man went on, “I rode up to a bunch 
of calves like this one. As I came up I noticed the cow make a dash 
at some animal in the tall grass. I could not make out what it was at 
first, but it proved to be a large gray wolf trying to get one of the 
young calves. 

“The cow rushed at the wolf several times and almost gored him. 
After several narrow escapes the wolf ran for a shallow hole near by, 
with the -cow close upon him. 

“The hole was not deep enough to let the wolf get entirely out of 
sight, so the cow stood there watching him, and at every attempt to 
escape she was ready for him. 

“I sat there on my horse for nearly an hour watching the siege. 
Then I rode up and killed the wolf with my revolver. As soon as the 
cow saw that her enemy was dead, she turned away and went to graz- 
ing as unconcernedly as if nothing out of the ordinary had taken place.” 

— Wm. A. Bixler. 


Kindness Returned 

T7 RED was a railroad-agent at a station high up on a mountainside. 
F One evening while sitting near the fire in deep study, he was 
startled by a sound outside. “I wonder if that can be somebody,” 



KINDNESS RETURNED 25 

thought he. “Surely not; for this is the third day of this terrible 
blizzard, and with the nearest station twenty miles away, who could 
come here, unless— but I pray I shall be spared any more accidents this 
winter. 

“There it is again,” and on opening the door Fred was much 
astonished to see a half-starved, shivering dog standing before him. 
“You poor old fellow! come in,” he said in answer to the pleading 


eyes that searched his face. With a broom he swept off the blanket 
of partly frozen snow from the dog’s back, and then hastened to bring 
a basin of cold water, for he noticed that one front foot was hanging 
limp and helpless. 

“You’ve come just in time to save that foot, doggie. A little more 
and it would have been frozen past hope. Shelter and food will make 
you a fine dog, I judge, and I am very glad to have your company.” 



26 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


Any doubt as to the dog’s gratitude was dispelled in the days that 
followed; for Jack, as Fred called him, insisted on following his master 
everywhere. 

During the long, cold, winter days Jack was Fred’s only companion, 
save for a section-hand that dropped in now and then. 

“Jack,” said Fred one day, “we shall not have much longer to stay 
at tliis lonely post. Here is a letter that says I’m to he transferred to 
the valley. It will he a welcomed change, for the one track through 
this division has been a constant worry. Now, what should I do if 
that delayed east-bound train should come in just as the west-bound 
express — ” Just then a whistle sent Fred running to the switch. In 
his haste to side-track Number 3 so as to clear the track for the express, 
he did not hear the east express that even then was looming in sight. 
But Jack, all alert, seemed to understand, and seizing the signal-flag 
between his teeth, he ran down the track toward the onrushing train. 

“How did you know the track was not cleared?” cried Fred, as he 
rushed up to the express engineer. . 

“How did I know? It was old Jack here who told me. As I rounded 
the curve yonder, what should I see but Jack tearing down the track 
toward me with the danger-flag in his mouth. That’s a dog worth hav- 
ing, boy. Jack, you’ve saved many lives today,” and the old engineer 
patted the dog’s curly head, then climbed, into his cabin. 

Jack never understood why Fred dropped on his kness beside him, 
threw his arms around his neck, and whispered, “Thank God for the 
day you wandered to my door!” 

Every act of kindness we show has a blessing in it for us, and Jack, 
though only a dog, never forgot the kindness shown him, and more 
than repaid Fred for all the help he received that wintry night when 
he was so much in need of a friend. —Frances B. Tallcn. 


THE EXPERIENCE OF A CAT 


27 



The Experience of a Cat 

S MALL boys who visit Washington to see the sights of the beautiful 
city, generally visit the Smithsonian Institute with their parents. 
This place contains many wonderful curiosities, and days can be profit- 
ably spent in studying them. 

In one part of the Institute there stands upon a pedestal the stuffed 


figure of a cat. This cat had a remarkable experience. One morning, 
while the Washington Monument was being constructed and was al- 
ready over four hundred feet in the air, the cat made its appearance 
at the base. Before the workmen arrived, it crawled to the top, and 
when they came, it was perched upon a plank calmly enjoying the 
scenery. 

When a workman finally came near it, the cat leaped into the air 
and began a rapid descent to the ground. As it fell it spread out its 
legs, making a sort of parachute of them, which checked its speed. 



28 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


Instead of being killed (as all the workmen thought it would be) when 
it struck the ground, it slowly turned- around, and then trotted away 
apparently unharmed. 

Just then a dog saw the kitty that had made so gallant a leap, and, 
before the workmen could interfere, rushed in and killed it. However, 
its body was rescued and thought worthy of perpetuation in the great 
Institute. —Selected. 


How James Showed True Heroism 

J AMES was a real hero. He was not a soldier nor a marine life-saver; 
he was just an elevator-boy. 

James lived in a large city in Michigan. His parents being poor, 
lie found it necessary to work to support himself. So he secured a 
position as elevator-boy with a business house, and for some time he 
worked faithfully at his task, never thinking that his position was 
really one of responsibility. 

One morning James entered the elevator as usual. His employer, 
scarcely noticing the lad, went about his duties, leaving James to do 
likewise. The day was very hot. It had not rained for weeks, and 
every inch of exposed wood was very dry. Hence the building in which 
James worked was a ready victim for the flames that were started that 
morning in some unaccountable manner. 

The fire-escapes were taxed to their utmost capacity, yet they were 
not sufficient to accommodate the out-going people. James was ordered 
to operate the elevator as rapidly as he could with safety. Up and 
down the shaft the elevator fairly flew, and many were thus carried 
beyond the reach of the fire. 

Now the smoke filled the elevator-shaft until poor James’ eyes 
smarted, and he could scarcely see to operate the lever. Men shouted 


FIFTEEN YEARS WITHOUT A BIRTHDAY 


29 


to him to abandon further effort to rescue others and to save himself. 
But unheeding their cries, he proceeded up to the top floors for another 
and still another load of those whose lives depended upon his faith- 
fulness. Now he realized his responsibility. At last he noticed that 
the flames had penetrated the walls and were filling the shaft. Know- 
ing then that he had done all he could to save others, he quickly made 
his escape from the burning building. Thus, this thrilling incident 
afforded James the opportunity to show forth his heroic qualities. 

Jesus needs true heroes in his service. Although the people in 
general do not regard Christians as heroes, yet I believe that He who 
knows our battles and temptations regards our every effort to defend 
and stand by the right as a mark of true heroismi. To stand one’s 
ground faithfully and live a life beyond reproach is a task requiring 
much grace and courage. Jesus “was in all points tempted like as 
we are, yet without sin.” And he is the hero whom we should strive 
to imitate. —Netta L. Owen. 


Fifteen Years Without a Birthday 


HERE is a young man in Washington, now in his twentieth year. 



^ who, according to an exchange, celebrated his first birthday in 1912. 
It is strange that a youth should arrive at his sixteenth year and never 
have had, since the time of his birth, a natal day to celebrate. 

He was born on the twenty-ninth of February, 1896. Of course he 
could not have another birthday until another lean-year rolled round— 
which would bring him to his fourth year in 1900. But it will be 
remembered that, according to the Gregorian calendar, in use through- 
out most of the civilized world, the last year of every century skips 
the leap-year day, so that there was no twenty-ninth of February in 
1900. Hence the young man was cheated out of that first birthday. 

In 1904, the next year in which he could rightfully claim a birthday, 


30 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


he was in Russia with his father until the twenty-fifth of February, 
according to the Russian calendar, on which day they left that country 
for home. But on arriving in Paris two days later, the boy found the 
calendars marked the fifth of March instead of the twenty-seventh of 
February, due to the fact that the Russian calendar is several days 
behind the Gregorian. Thus he had to swallow his disappointment a 
second time, and look forward to his first birthday in 1908. 

Early in 1908 his father, who is an army officer, was ordered to the 
Philippines, and sailed with his family from San Francisco to Manila 
about the middle of February in that year. As is well known, there is 
a point, or rather a meridian line, in the Pacific Ocean which marks the 
one hundred and eighty degrees of longitude, where all vessels bound 
toward the setting sun have to drop a day from their calendar; and it 
so happened that the steamer conveying this birthdayless boy crossed 
this line on the twenty-eighth of February, and the captain had to drop 
out the twenty-ninth. 

Thus the youth had to wait until he was sixteen years old to cele- 
brate his first birthday. You may be sure that there was a mighty 
celebration in his home* in honor of the event. 

—Youth’s Companion. 


A Screech-Owl’s Misfortune 

T HE screech-owl usually builds his home in a knot-hole or hollow 
tree. He, like other owls, can see best at night. 

Some of these little friends live near the large building where the 
writer lives, and often come to the barn to catch mice and sparrows. In 
the evening they sometimes sit in a tree near my window and pour forth 
their doleful, quavery tones. Occasionally one will fly in at the window 
and stay a while, but he would rather be in the dark with his owl friends 
than in a lighted room. 


A SCREECH-OWL’S MISFORTUNE 


31 





One night a poor little owl made a mistake. He went in at the top 
of the rain-spout, which is about forty-four feet deep, and as it was too 
small to fly out of, the poor fellow went to the bottom. Fortunately, 

a friend who passed by heard his 
scratching in the pipe and rescued 
him. The owl was wet, cold, and 
nearly dead. He must have been 
there a long time. He was brought 
to me, and after bathing him to re- 
move the coal-soot, I took him to 
1 my room and left him on a chair- 
back near the radiator to dry his 
feathers. In a short time he was 
warmed and lively. 

When I tried to pet him, he made 
a wierd noise, and snapped his beak 
a few times; but learning that I 
would not hurt him, he became more 
. quiet. Some little girls came to see 
him, and he would sit on their hands 
and heads, prick his ears, and roll 
his eyes at them as if he were sur- 
prized to see them. 

We perched him upon a chair-back and took his picture, and then 
we let him go back to the barn to catch some mice for his supper. Doubt- 
less he was hungry after having been shut up in such a dark, deep 
prison. —Alpha E. Miller. 


32 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


How a Crippled Boy Served His Country 

HE story of a fifteen-vear-old New England boy who lived in Revo- 



A lutionary times impressed me deeply. His father and brothers had 
gone to war, bnt he, being a cripple, could not go. After they had gone, 
the little boy sat dowtn and wept; for he felt that there was scarcely 
any use for him in the world, since he could not be a soldier. 

While he was sitting there, he heard the sound of horses’ hoofs. 
Soon he saw three men on horseback ride up to the blacksmith shop 
across the street. It was closed, for the blacksmith had gone to war. 

One of the horsemen inquired if there was any one there who could 
set a shoe. The boy hobbled across the road and said that he thought 
he could do it, as he had often tended the fire for the blacksmith and 
had watched him shoe many a horse. While the boy was at work, a 
fourth horseman rode up and said that his horse could not go five miles 
farther unshod. The boy did the best that he could to shoe the horse. 
When he had finished, he said, “It isn’t done very well, but I’ve done 
my best.” The rider told him it was done very well, and that without 
the shoes the horse would have been useless. 

He rode rapidly away, but one of the men waited, and said to the 
boy: “You have served your country today as well as any ten men 
could have served it. The rider of that horse is Colonel Warner.” 

The Colonel reached the battlefield just in time to save the Ameri- 
cans from defeat. The boy had done what he could, and although it 
was a little thing, yet it helped to win a. great victory. So he had a part, 
in gaining American independence. 

When I read this, I thought it a good illustration of how we may 
have a part in the battle of the Lord against sin. We may not be called 
to the battle’s front, but there is surely something for each to do. We 
can, by our prayers and means, support those who are at the front 
God’s ministers, missionaries, and workers. Then we shall each have 


JOE AND THE GUINEA 


33 


a part in the victories won for the Lord. It is useless to sit down and 
weep or to fold our hands because we can not do some great thing; if 
we do the little things our hands find to do, God accepts our service. 
If we are not able to give a great amount, we should not withhold the 
little that we can give. 

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (Eccl. 
9:10). — N . Pearl Lewis. 


Joe and the Guinea 

J OE was just a common-looking yellow dog whose home was away 
out on the Kansas prairie ; but because of a way he had of learning 
many tricks and of doing many unexpected things, everybody liked 
him. Once while he was looking up at a hawk and running very hard 
and barking wildly, he ran against a barrel in the yard and almost 
broke his neck. Another time he was trying to stand upon his hind feet 
and became overbalanced, and went stumbling along much as a person 
would who was about to fall. “He is dancing! He is dancing!” the 
children cried, and always after that he would stand up and do the 
same way if he was asked. 

Many funny things he did, but the funniest of all was his trouble 
with a guinea. This guinea was the only one on the farm, and his be- 
ing lonely made him the nuisance that he was. He worried the chickens 
and would even fight with the turkeys, and was always making a loud, 
vexing noise. He was kept because his terrible screams would drive 
a wav hawks. 

- l 

Joe came to hate him so that he would growl and snap at him some- 
times. One day while Joe was sleeping in a comfortable bed he had 
scratched in the cool earth on the north of the house, the guinea came 
near him and uttered one of those screams. It startled Joe so much 


34 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


that he was upon his feet before he knew it, and after the tormenter 
he went. At first the guinea was not alarmed, but flew along ahead of 
him a little way from the ground. But when he saw that Joe meant 
vengeance, he flew on top of the barn. 

This barn was not very large. On the south side the eaves were 
perhaps twelve feet high, but on the north side the roof sloped almost 
to the ground. The guinea sat on the very top of the barn, feeling 
perfectly safe. But Joe was determined to have vengeance; so he 
jumped upon the roof on the north side and climbed up after the guinea. 
Oh, how it frightened the bird ! He screamed and flew straight south, 
lighting out in the corral. Joe was too excited to think of anything but 
killing that guinea; so he jumped off the bam on the high side. He 
could not do so well as a cat ; he lit all in a heap and rolled over a time 
or two, but he was still able to run. The guinea was really frightened 
now, for he had never seen a dog go over a barn before. 

This time he flew right over the horse-tank, which was twelve feet 
across and three feet deep. Joe almost had hold of him, but as Joe 
could not fly like the guinea, he got a big wetting in that horse-tank. 

How angry he was now ! — as angry as if some one had thrown water 
on him. But by the time he was out of the water, the guinea had made 
his escape and sat defiantly upon the comb of the house. There he sat 
a long while, but Joe did not forget his grudge. He kept watch, and 
when at last the guinea flew over the barnyard, Joe too was there and 
cornered him in the barn. Some one ran to rescue the bird and was 
not a moment too soon, for his tail-feathers were all gone, and most of 
the feathers from his back, and Joe was still punishing him. That 
seemed to satisfy Joe, and he did not molest the guinea again. 

— Mabel Hale. 


KATIE’S SACRIFICE 


35 


Katie’s Sacrifice 

J^ATIE was a little girl who lived in Australia. She had two little 
sisters, and often her mother would send her out with the children 
to gather wood. 

One day they went out later than usual. Before they realized it, 
the sun had gone down, and it began to grow very dark. The little chil- 
dren were very tired, and Katie could not carry both of them. More 
than that, she did not know the way home, for she had gone farther 
than usual. 

The air was becoming cool, and she hardly knew what to do. But 
she sought a large rock where she could find shelter for the children, 
and collected some seaweeds and heaped them about the children to 
keep out the cold night air. Then she took off her own jacket and cov- 
ered them/ Though she herself was cold, yet she was not thinking so 
much about herself, but thought only of the needs of her little sisters. 
Soon the children were fast asleep, and Katie kept watch over them 
until she became numb with the cold. 

The mother became alarmed by their failure to return home, and 
sent out friends in search of them. When they found the children, little 
Katie was stiff and cold, but her little sisters were comfortably sleep- 
ing, having been sheltered by the seaweeds and Katie’s jacket. 

This is a beautiful story of a sister’s love, and we can get a good 
lesson from it. Katie loved her little sisters so much that she was 
willing to sacrifice her own life for them. 

Do you know of some one who sacrificed his life for us? It was 
Jesus, who died on the cross that you and I might be saved. Since 
Jesus did this for us, will we not give him our hearts and serve him 
faithfully each day of our lives? We can prove our love by giving q 
life of faithful service. —Cora I. Weber. 


36 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


How Margaret Was Rescued 

AERIE and Margaret were playmates and spent many happy hours 
together. Carrie was the oldest of a large family of children, and 
it was her duty to care for her father’s sheep. 

One evening she took two of her little sisters and Margaret with her 
to help get the sheep into their yard for the night. It was in the fall 
of the year, when twilight and darkness come early. As the sheep had 
gone a long distance from home, it was dark long before the children 
reached them. 

As Margaret was afraid to be gone from home so late, she turned 
and started for home. Carrie took the smallest child on her back, the 
other by the hand, and went as fast as she could for the sheep, whose 
bells she could hear in the distance. 

Soon she had them all together and on the way home, but suddenly 
they ran off on a by-road through mud and water. Poor Carrie could 
not run fast enough to head them off and get them back on the right 
road; so all she could do was to follow them, trusting that they would 
at last lead her home. She had driven the sheep home many times, and 
they had never acted in this way before, and she did not know what to 
make of it. She felt, however, that the Lord would work it out all right 
in some way. 

Soon she heard some one crying piteously. She stopped and lis- 
tened. It was her little friend Margaret, who had fallen into a pit from 
which some men had been digging marl. 

Carrie knelt down and looked into the pit. She could just discern 
Margaret’s form away down in the pit, which was about twelve feet 
deep with five feet of water in the bottom. She and Margaret tried to 
plan a way in which Margaret could be gotten out. Carrie offered to 
go for help, but Margaret was afraid to be left there very long, as the 
ledge on which she was standing was crumbling beneath her feet. 


HOW MARGARET WAS RESCUED 


37 


Soon Carrie thought of a way. Taking off her apron and a shawl 
that had been cut in two to form a three-cornered piece, she tied them 
together, thus making a rope of them. This she tied to her sister and 
bade her lie down on the ground, and then slowly descended on this rope 
into the pit where she could see a ledge to stand on. Then telling her 
sister to untie the rope, she passed the other end down to Margaret, 
who was still below her. She bade Margaret wind it tightly about her 
hands, and then drew her up beside her. The little ones were not strong 
enough to draw Carrie and Margaret out of the pit; so they knew they 
must stay there until help came. 

They told the little ones to call loudly for help, but they were afraid 
and would not. Margaret was afraid also and would do nothing but 
cry. Carrie called as loudly as she could, but as she was down so far 
in the pit the sound did not travel very far. 

At last they heard some one walking, and to their joy it proved to 
be Margaret’s father, who had started that way to Carrie’s home to look 
for his little daughter. Hearing their call, he had stopped to see what 
the trouble was. Carrie threw one end of her rope to him and tied the 
other end to Margaret, and her father drew her out. Then the rope 
was passed down again to Carrie, and she also was drawn out. How 
glad they were to be out of that awful place ! 

As Margaret was very wet, her father took her home at once to her 
mother. Carrie wakened up her little sisters, who had cried themselves 
to sleep, and, looking around, she found the sheep lying down on the 
hillside, as if they were waiting for her. She started them all out, and 
they took the right road and led her safely home. 

The next morning Margaret’s father went to see the pit his little 
girl had fallen into and found that the ledge on which she had stood 
had all crumbled away. Margaret had dug holes in the sides of the pit 
with her hands until her fingernails were all broken, trying to crawl 


38 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


out of the pit. In falling into the water she had put out her hands and 
felt the ledge, which was just above the water’s edge, and she had drawn 
herself up on it. 

Carrie is now a very old lady, and she says no one could make her 
believe that it was not the dear Lord who made the sheep go the wrong 
way so Margaret could be rescued. — Emma Krenz. 


Squire 

INQUIRE was a tiny little striped ground-squirrel that Jake found 
one day. You wonder where! Well, Jake was plowing early in 
the spring and plowed the little fellow out of his winter bed. He put 
him into his pocket and brought him. to the house. He made a neat box, 
partitioned into two parts, for the squirrel’s home. One side had about 
three inches of fresh earth in it, and over part of the earth a narrow 
board was placed down flat. On the other side of the partition were 
kept water and food, also some bits of cloth and straw for the squirrel’s 

use as he saw fit. Over the top of the 
box was fitted a covering of screen 
wire. 

Soon Squire was at home and felt 
very safe, even if a cat stood and 
watched him with hungry eyes. Be- 
fore many days he knew us all and 
was as playful as a kitten. He liked 
us all except Dave, our big brother, 
whom he would bite every chance he got. He loved to be petted and 
fondled and would lap our fingers with his soft little tongue and make 
a queer little purring sound. 

We enjoyed best to note his habits. He never arose until nearly 



THE SNAKE AND THE TOAD 


39 


eleven o’clock in the morning, but was often busy housekeeping yet 
when we went to bed. He was a great house-cleaner ; almost every day 
he brought out all his bedding and often moved his bed from one corner 
of his house to another. As a rule, it was under the board I spoke of. 
He would dig a hole in the earth, carefully line it with the straw and 
cloth, then go in and somehow manage to close the hole so one could 
not tell where he was. When the earth or bedding became old, he told 
us in unmistakable ways that he was displeased. One day he tried to 
stuff my apron into his mouth and carry it in, but it was too much for 
him. 

He was often allowed to run about the house, and sometimes he had 
funny experiences. One day as he was standing on his hind legs on the 
edge of the swill-pail, he slipped and dipped his tail into the greasy 
water. And oh, how sad he was ! He went direct to his bed, and we 
saw him no more until his tail was washed and dry. He was very proud 
of that tail. 

All summer he furnished us amusement. But in the fall we missed 
him, and where he went we never knew. Pie was gone all winter long, 
but in the spring he came walking into the house one day, thin, weak, 
and hungry, but as friendly as ever. On the floor sat little Sister, a 
tiny baby girl just able to sit alone. He soon made friends with her, 
and every day they played together. He never allowed the little hands 
to catch him, yet he was always by her. And such a favorite as he was 
with all the family ! But one day, Deacon, the cat, caught him, and that 
was his end. • —Mabel A. Hale. 


The Snake and the Toad 

H OW many of you have ever seen a snake eat a toad? One time a 
snake lived in a hole in our house. “ ‘In our house !’ do you say?” 
When I tell you what kind of house it was, then you will not be sur- 
prized. 


40 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 



We lived in a new coun- 
try then, and people there 
did not have much money. 
The ground was all cov- 
ered with grass, for noth- 
ing had been planted yet, 
so we had nothing to sell 
with which to get money. 
Some men took the plow 
and plowed up the grass. 
Then they cut this sod in- 
to squares and placed them 
on top of each other. When 
the house was completed, 
they called it a sod house. 
It was in this kind of wall 


that the snake lived. 

We children were afraid of the snake, but every time any of us 
went outdoors it would run into its hole before we could kill it, and we 
could not dig in the wall after it, for that would have ruined our house. 

One day my brother got a toad and placed it in the yard close to 
the hole; then he hid inside the door. Pretty soon the snake saw the 
toad, and came crawling out to eat it. The little toad seemed helpless, 
but just as the snake got it in his mouth my brother sprang out and 
killed the snake. How glad we were ! 

Sometimes Satan sets baits to get us to do things we would not 
do if we knew they were wrong. Then he hides and watches to see us 
fall into his traps. Jesus says, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into 
temptation.” —Oma D. Plunkett. 



KEEP AWAY FROM THE WELL 


41 


Keep Away From the Well 

ROUND the house where Earl and Linnie lived were nice, shady 
trees, and on two sides was the large old orchard with its bent 
and gnarled apple-trees. Beyond the orchard were the meadows where 
the children went to gather violets and other beautiful flowers. Still 
beyond the meadows were the woods, where early in the spring they 

went with their father to the sugar- 
camp. So the children had many 
pleasant places to play. 

Earl was ten years old, and Linnie 
was only five. Earl was very proud 
that his mother should trust him to 
take little Sister with him to play in 
the fields and orchard. But time and 
again the mother said to them as they 
went out to play, “Now, be sure to 
keep away from the well; you might 
Ifall in!” 

One day as they were at play in the farther end of the garden, Earl 
began to wish he could go to the well. He had been there with Father 
many times and had never fallen in ; and was he not big enough to take 
care of Linnie! So he unfastened the gate, and, leading tbe little girl 
by the hand, he disobeyed Mother by going to the forbidden place. 
Earl had not intended to go very near the well; but after a while he 
crept cautiously up and peeped over the top of the curbing. And as 
Linnie came up beside him, he put his arm around her, and together 
they looked at the mossy stones and watched the reflection of their 
faces in the water. They were very much interested, and leaned over 
farther and farther, when all at once— they never knew how— Linnie 
lost her balance and went over and down, down into the dark water. 

Earl’s cries soon brought his father and the hired men, who were 



42 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


working in a field near by. When they learned what had happened, 
the father got into a large bucket, and the men let himj down. Linnie 
was just rising for the last time. Reaching down his strong arms, her 
father took her out of the water, and they were both soon drawn up. 
The little girl was cold and white, and Earl thought she was dead. 
But after they had worked over her some time, she opened her blue 
eyes and finally began to breathe. Then they carried her into the house 
to Mother, who had been busy getting supper and knew nothing of 
what had happened. 

Earl’s joy knew no bounds when his little sister could sit up and 
talk with him once more. He was so sorry for what he had done that 
his father thought he had been punished enough; and they all were so 
thankful to have their little girl back that no one said much to him 
about his fault. But he learned a lesson that day which he never for- 
got. And he always says that he, as well as his sister, fell into a well 
that day, although his was not a well of water. Do any of you know 
what kind of well it was? —Grace Hutcheson . 


The Mother Hen and the Hawk 

JYJARY was sitting on the board fence between the yard and the 
barn-lot, and wishing that something interesting would happen. 
Near by an old hen with a brood of half-grown chickens was scratching 
for food, but Mary scarcely looked at her. There was nothing very 
interesting about a hen. Then suddenly a sound, quick and shrill, 
pierced the silence. Mary jumped and looked around her. Yes, it 
came from the placid old hen, who had stopped scratching and stood 
with an eye turned upward. Straightway every little chicken ran under 
some burdock-plants by the fence. Mary watched closely. In a few 
minutes the old hen’s “cluck, cluck” called them out again, and for a 
few minutes they picked around contentedly. Then once more the 


THE MOTHER HEN AND THE HAWK 


43 


sudden call sent them scurrying to cover. The old hen ran toward the 
fence on which Mary was sitting and hid in the weeds. 

Somewhat frightened herself, Mary looked up and saw a hawk fly- 
ing into a tree near by. For a little while everything was quiet. Then 
the hen came out and called her chicks around her again, keeping an 
eye, meanwhile, turned toward the sky. But the danger was not 
passed. Suddenly, a shadow swooped down over Mary’s head, and 
there came a bloodcurdling sound from the old hen, quick, command- 
ing, wild with alarm; then not a chick to be seen! 

Mary gazed in fright and wonder. 
What had become of those chickens'? 
On a bare spot near the hitching-post 
she saw what she thought were some 
small stones, and she wondered where 
they had been the day before, when 
she and her brother had looked vainly 
for a few small rocks with which to 
crack nuts. Then she thought she no- 
ticed the slightest movement of one of 
the stones. Looking more clocely, she 
saw that those chicks were lying flat- 
tened out on the ground, with wings 
spread out, looking like stones, or 
“ playing dead.” 

Mary gazed, fascinated, for what seemed a long time, but probably 
only a few minutes. Then the hen from under the burdock-leaves gave 
a low call, and every stone (?) took to its legs and ran to her. She 
kept them perfectly still. Not a leaf moved. Mary nearly fell off the 
fence waiting for them to come out. 

Finally, the hen came out and began to cackle. Then the old rooster 
down in the yard began to crow, and stalked up, followed by a dozen 





44 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


or more hens, all cackling in great excitement. They cackled till the 
neighbor’s chickens took up the refrain. 

Mary hastily counted the little chickens. Not one was gone. Mother 
love and wisdom had saved them all— or was it their obedience? 

— Exchange. 


O 


Entertaining a Stranger 

NE time I heard an old lady tell an incident of her life, which I 
think will be interesting to you. 

She was a widow, and lived alone. One day after working hard 
for one of her age, she was tired and lay down for a napLT%V 

After a while she heard a rap, and saw a gentleman, a stranger in 
appearance, standing at the open doorway. 'She kindly acknowledged 
his presence, and they talked together. In answer to his inquiries'! she 
told him about her children and of her h u sband ’s' .4fea t h — h o w h uppity 
he had passed away and so on. 

After spending some time in conversation, thinking* that perhaps 1 
the stranger had been without his noonday meal, she invited djim fo 
partake of what food she could present. He accepted 

Presently, she said, “Sir, you are a stranger to v me, hut % am always 
ready to show kindness to those who are in need. I have children dir|i 
in the world, and I think if I am kind to others, and care for them, 
God will care for mine, if they should be in need.” 

At this, the stranger burst into tears, and, no longer concealing Ms 
identity, he put his arms around her neck, and said, “Mother, don’t 
you know your own boy?” ' 

At first she could hardly believe it, and then she said, “Why, Joe, 
why didn’t you tell me?” ' ~ r 

Do you not suppose she was glad then that she had been kind to 


PETE, A BRAVE ELEPHANT 


45 


him ? Suppose she had spoken crossly and had sent him on to the next 
neighbor’s, how ashamed she would have been, and how she would 
have regretted her unkindness to her own boy! 

Learn a lesson, dear children, and always show courtesy to every 
one, strangers included. Of course, it would not be best for you to 
open the door and let a stranger into the house if your parents were 
gone. You should be very careful about that, but learn to be mannerly 
and show respect even to strangers. Never make fun of them, but be 
willing to care for them, if need be. Some people are not willing to 
wait on strangers. It is too much trouble for them. But the Bible says, 
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have enter- 
tained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2). —Joyce B. Meyers. 


Pete, a Brave Elephant 

H ERE is a story about a brave old elephant in far-away Ceylon, 
India. An English sergeant, with his wife and little daughter, 
Fannie, was stationed there, and the little girl became great friends 
with old Pete, the leader of a band of elephants employed around the 
Smiths’ new home. But one morning the little maid found herself in 
awful danger, as she stood dreaming on an old bridge, watching the 
great water-lilies open, not very far from home, but still too far from 
any helper. This is what happened: 

All at once a low, ominous rumble attracted her attention. The 
noise rapidly grew louder and louder; there was the sound of flying, 
gigantic hoofs, and the mighty roar of elephants burst like a flood of 
terror upon the morning air. The child suddenly realized that there 
was a stampede of elephants, and that the herd was coming directly 
toward the bridge to cross the river. Nothing, in that event, could save 
her. There was no time for flight, and besides, if she could cross the 
bridge, there, was for some distance only a. narrow path, with steep 


46 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


banks on either side, which led down to the deep gorge below. She 
could not open her lips to scream; she was powerless to move. And 
of what use? for who could come to her rescue in time to save her? No 
human being, in truth. 

She could now see the elephants dashing wildly forward, almost 
upon the bridge, a mighty, terrible host, and in that awful moment she 
closed her blue eyes to shut out the fearful sight and to meet death 
with as little knowledge as possible. Then, in a moment ’s flash, she felt 
herself swung high in the air by an elephant’s trunk, and flung over his 
hack, while the great creature galloped on at the head of the maddened 
herd. She could feel the mighty strides of the elephant beneath her, 
as the elephants thundered over the bridge with their deafening roar. 
She did not open her eyes; she scarcely drew her breath again until 
she felt herself put gently down upon the grass, and found herself safe 
within the precincts of her own home. 

Beside her stood Pete, her own beloved Pete, who, with his small, 
twinkling eyes and his great heart, had perceived his little friend’s 
danger, and, without a second’s loss of time, had rushed to her rescue. 

— Selected . 


A Christmas Surprize 

jyj R. BROWN was an honest Christian man whom misfortune and 
sorrow had robbed of his dear wife and, through her sickness 
and death, of all he possessed. He was left penniless with two children, 
a girl of ten and a boy of eight years. Unable to obtain work in the 
town where they lived, he went to a place where all were strangers, but 
where he could have employment. He rented a little house, but had 
no money to buy furniture. It would be hard, but Ethel and Joe were 
brave little people; so the three of them did the best they could with 


A CHRISTMAS SURPRIZE 


47 


the little they could afford. Every night they prayed to the Lord to 
supply their need, and each day they were fed. 

Mr. Brown soon obtained work, and prospects were brighter until 
one day there was an accident in the factory and he was so seriously 
hurt that he could not work. 

No one knew their distress, but they again looked up to their heav- 
enly Father. They were not beggars, and could not bear the idea of 
asking the neighbors to help. It was only a few weeks till Christmas, 
and he knew that before then the little bit he had saved would be gone. 
Winter was coming on, and the only heat in the house was from a little 
oil-stove on which they cooked their food, and they did not have enough 
bedding to keep themselves warm. In the daytime the children were at 
school, but mornings and evenings the house was so cold for them. 

But in their distress they covenanted together, the three of them, 
to tell their troubles only to Jesus. 

A while before Christmas Mr. Brown took Joe on his knee and 
said: “Son, I have only a little money, just enough to buy you shoes — 
and see how much you need them! If I buy them, I can not get any 
Christmas presents for either you or Sister. What shall I do? Can 
you children be contented with no Christmas this year?” Ethel was 
close by and heard all, and she and Joe agreed to do without a present 
that he might have shoes. 

The Sunday before Christmas a kind woman invited them to her 
home for dinner. They were glad to go. for their house was cold. 
They enjoyed the warmth and the good, wholesome food in this home, 
and seemed happy and contented. The lady asked kindly, “What are 
you children expecting for Christmas?” Ethel was silent, but little 
Joe answered innocently, “We are not expecting anything. Papa had 
only money enough to buy my shoes, so we won’t get a present this 
year.” She asked what he really wanted, and he answered, “Ethel 
wanted a doll that had real hair and that would go to sleep and I 


r 


48 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 






A CHRISTMAS SURPRIZE 


49 


wanted a little wagon so bad, but we won’t get them this year.” The 
lady saw by Ethel’s face that she did not enjoy the conversation, and 
little Joe also remembered, for he said: “Oh, I promised not to tell 
these things, but I forgot. We were going to tell only Jesus.” 

The next day this woman and another went early to the Brown home. 
Mr. Brown, having thought himself able to seek work again, was gone, 
but the children were there and made the visitors welcome. The two 
women soon took in the situation. A pallet on the floor for a bed, a 
small oil-stove the only means of heat, boxes for chairs, and a very 
few dishes and a pan or two— that was all. 

Before they left, Ethel said, “We wlant to show you our Christmas 
tree,” and threw open the door to an unused room. There in one cor- 
ner was a limb from a tree tied upright and decorated with bright bits 
of paper and cloth, and fastened upon it were a few Sunday-school 
cards and some trifles made at school. “We could not have presents 
this year, so Joe and I made a tree that it might seem a little like Christ- 
mas tomorrow,” Ethel explained. The children were so delighted with 
their success that they did not notice that something in the women’s 
eyes made them unable to see the tree distinctly. The women left with 
their minds made up to have a regular Christmas surprize there; and 
soon every one in the congregation was notified of the plans, and all 
were willing to help. 

That night Mr. Brown came home after dark with a little money 
earned that day. As he approached the house, he saw a cheerful light 
in it and blinds on the windows. He opened the door and saw, not the 
bare home he had left, but a bright fire in a real stove, a table covered 
with a cloth and set with plenty of dishes, and a steaming supper on it, 
chairs about the table, blinds and curtains on the windows, a rocker, 
bedsteads, and plenty of good warm bedding, and even a carpet on 
the floor. 

Joe and Ethel were wild with delight. “Papa, it is all ours! The 


50 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


Lord did hear. It is our Christmas surprize.” The father sank into 
a chair and then to his knees, a child on each side of him, and earnestly 
poured out his heart in gratitude to God for all these comforts, but 
most of all for the dear people of God who had so befriended him. 

Ethel offered special thanksgiving for a beautiful new doll, and 
Joe for a new wagon. The next day there was to be an all-day meeting, 
and three happy folks went from the Brown home, but they did not seem 
one bit happier than the rest of that congregation. — Mabel Hale. 


A Happy Christmas 

^ EVERAL years ago I knew a family who had become rather poor. 

They had known better times, but what I am going to tell you hap- 
pened when their circumstances were not so pleasant. 

There were seven children in this family, but the eldest was away 
from home, so there were just six at home. It took all the father could 
earn to provide the food and clothes that were absolutely necessary 
for his family, so there was none left to buy the things children always 
want at Christmas time. 

Yes, it was winter, and nearly Christmas too. They had always 
had presents and candy and such things at Christmas; but this year- 
alas! they could not hope for them. Most of all, the Jones children 
wanted a turkey, and Grace, aged six, and Harry, aged three, each 
wanted a doll. 

Now, the mother was a good Christian woman, and she taught her 
children to pray. So these children asked God to give them*the things 
they wanted for Christmas. They especially prayed for a turkey, and 
Grace and Harry each asked for a doll. 

Were their prayers answered? Even several days before Christmas 
the Lord began to answer them. First, a lady sent some oranges and 
candy. Then the day before Christmas they received a notice from 


A DOG’S FAITHFULNESS 


51 


the freight-station that a box was there for them. As they had not 
ordered anything, they wondered what it could be. The father brought 
it home, and eagerly the family watched while he opened it. And what 
do you suppose it contained? A nice dressed turkey, some red apples, 
hickory-nuts, chestnuts, beef, pork, wheat, dress goods, and some 
smaller things. How the children rejoiced, and the mother too! for 
there was the turkey they had prayed for, and miany more things 
besides. 

But that was not all. On Christmas day each member of the family 
received presents, and the father and mother were given some money, 
too. Grace and Harry, to their great joy, received the dolls they 
wanted. A wealthy lady gave two of the boys each a pair of gum boots. 
A day or so later she sent toys, nuts, and candy. Another lady sent 
cake, cookies, nuts, and candy. 

So this family had a merry Christmas, but they did not forget that 
it was given them through the goodness of God. Even the littlest ones 
thanked God for their gifts. That evening as they knelt in family 
prayer, little Grace said, “Lord, I thank you for the nice doll.” 

— Gertrude M. Hendricks. 


A Dog’s Faithfulness 

T HERE are but few of us who do not know of some incident reveal- 
ing the trueness and faithfulness of the dog. The story that I 
here relate came directly under my observation. 

Years ago a family living on a ranch in South Dakota owned a 
shepherd dog named Ring. The dog had lived with this family from 
the time he was a pup, and he had become the household pet. He had 
learned to drive the hawks away from the chickens and to chase away 
ground-squirrels, prairie-dogs, skunks, badgers, minks, weasels, foxes, 
and wolves. 


52 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


He was a constant companion of the smaller boys, who spent much 
time herding the cattle upon the plains, for in those early days the 
pastures upon the wide prairies were not fenced, and the abundant 
growth of grass made cattle-raising one of the common industries. 

Ring was a home-loving dog, and when not coaxed away by some 
of the folks, he would always be about the homestead watching. The 
lady of the house often expressed her appreciation of his companion- 
ship. 

Ring seemed to have a special hatred of the coyotes, perhaps be- 
cause they lurked so often about the chicken-house trying to capture 
the young fowls for an appetizing meal. One day he started after pne 
of these sly animals and chased it over the hills toward the creek which 
lay just beyond. Evidently there were more coyotes out of sight of the 
farmhouse, and no doubt it was a bitter fight that ensued. At any 
rate, when Ring returned he was badly wounded, and never afterward 
could he be induced to chase a coyote more than a short distance. 

The family lived on the same farm for six years, during which time 
Ring occupied his regular place, seeming almost as one of the family. 
But when they made arrangements to move to another State, they 
thought it best not to take the dog, for he was getting old. So they 
decided to give him to a neighbor that lived alone. They thought Ring 
would sdon feel at home with his new master. 

The morning of the family’s departure came, and Ring accompanied 
them to the train. The children could not refrain from tears when he 
looked them in the eyes and wagged his tail. They remembered his 
faithfulness and felt sorry to part with a friend wilio had been so true. 

Ring, being accustomed to having children for his companions and 
some one always about the home, was not satisfied with his new home, 
although his new master was very kind to him and fed him well. He 
became lonely and soon found his way back to the old home, and 
although the house was vacant, he lay on the front door-step. 



A DOG’S FAITHFULNESS 53 

Neighbors passing by, knowing that the faithful animal must be 
hungry, tried to coax him home with them to feed him, but to no avail. 
There he lay, keeping guard as he had done for years before. He would 
often raise his head, point his nose toward the sky, and wail piteously ; 
but he could not be prevailed upon to leave his post. 

Ring’s new master, missing his dog, decided to hunt for him, and 
he found him lying upon the door-step of the old home. It was with 
great difficulty that the dog was persuaded to leave the old place. He 


was well fed and given an extra good place to sleep, but the next morn- 
ing he was again found upon the door-step of his old home. After 
considerable coaxing he again accompanied his new master home, but 
as soon as he received food, he was off again for the door-step. 

Days grew into weeks and months; still the faithful dog awaited 


54 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


the return of his old master and friends, and it was the common talk 
of the neighborhood that the dog was an example of patience and faith- 
fulness. For nearly a year he was seen almost constantly upon the 
door-step, leaving only long enough to get a little food, then returning 
to his vigil. Finally he pined away and died— died at his post. No 
wonder the adage “faithful as a dog” is often heard. 

The photograph shown here is of a dog that loved his master and 
was his constant companion until death separated them. The dog 
stayed by the grave and cried piteously many days. 

No other animal, it is stated, shows such expression of pleasure or 
grief as the dog, and few other animals equal the dog in intelligence. 
Hundreds of instances could be cited where the dog has. been taught 
to do rescue-work, by which almost countless lives have been saved 
from death on the battle-field, in the desert, and in the snow. 

Let us be kind to our faithful friends. — Wm. A. BixVer. 


About Quails 

’ ■* • ^ s'.' -V 

pUZZY little things they were, halfway between bumblebees and 
new-hatched chickens in size and three times as lively as either. 
They were as like as three peas in a pod, but n'o doubt the mother quail 
knew them apart and had little bird names for each, perhaps. Almost 
as soon as they were hatched, they began to scramble out of the nest 
and run about the pen. They were not born out in the open woods, like 
their many quail cousins, but on a State game-farm where they could 
be watched and tended just like chickens. The pen seemed big to them 
for they knew nothing of the world outside. 

Very happy were they, hunting all day long in the green grass and 
finding tiny bugs and worms, which tasted just as good to them as candy 
does to boys and girls. They soon learned to run quickly when their 
mother called, for she could find more bugs than any of them and the 


ABOUT QUAILS 


55 


first one to reach her generally got the bug. When the sun sank low 
in the west the mother quail called them all to her, and they settled 
down under the warm feathers of her breast. One baby quail was not 
quite ready to stop playing and kept sticking his head out from under 
her wing to see what was going on outside. But before dark all were 
quiet, for chasing bugs is hard work and makes young quails very 
sleepy. All night long the mother bird sat there, hardly moving a 
feather while her babies slept. 

Three happy days passed for the mother quail and her babies, and 
then came a terrible night when the babies were awakened by sharp 
cries from the mother and felt the chill night air on their backs. She 
was gone, and they could hear her fluttering out in the dark somewhere, 
although they could not see her at all. Close crouched in the nest they 
waited and shivered until the flutterings grew fainter and fainter and 
then stopped altogether. E*ven in summer nights it is cold for baby 
quails, and so they shivered until the sun came up. Then they saw their 
mother, lying with rumpled feathers close to the fence where she had 
been dragged by a hungry weasel. She was dead, but they did not 
know it and kept playing around her and wondering why she did not 
get up and hunt bugs for them. 

Then came the father bird. The babies did not know him so well; 
for it had always been the mother who hunted bugs for them and kept 
them warm at night. At first they did not understand him as well, but 
they found that he was a good bug-chaser and soon began to follow him 
about. When sundown came he called them to him and settled down 
for the night over them, just as though he had done it always. Snug 
and pleasant it was beneath his warm breast; bright and early did he 
lead them out for their bug breakfast and for a new day of happiness. 

Perhaps for a little time they saw a difference and missed their 
mother; but if they are warm and comfortable and have plenty to eat, 
little birds soon forget. After a few days they were well content to 


56 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


follow their father about, and they grew very fast and very strong in 
the warm summer days. A week, twio weeks, three weeks, he cared for 
them night and day. The fuzzy down of their baby days changed to 
scraggly feathers, and in time these changed to trim brown and gray 
like their father’s, their mother’s, or any of their cousins’, aunts’ and 
uncles ’. Then they were ready to take care of themselves. Don ’t you 
think that the father bird must have been very proud of them? And 
was he not a smart bird to bring up such a fine family all by himself? 

—Our Dumb Animals. 

One time when I was visiting at a home in the country, I was de- 
lighted one morning to see a little quail walking around with a flock 
of turkeys. I was told that it came to the house with the turkeys from 
the woods in the fall and had been with them ever since. Sometimes 
it would roost on the turkeys’ backs and sometimes under their wings. 
When the turkeys were fed, it would come up close to the feet of the 

one who fed them and eat without fear. 

One night while I was there it rained, and 
the rain froze, making a thick coat of ice on 
the trees, fences and ground. The turkeys 
oosted out in the storm that night, and in 
he morning they were covered with ice; 
but the little quail had taken refuge under 
the old gobbler’s wing and escaped the 
storm. 

It is a mystery how the quail happened to make friends with the 
turkeys, for quails are very timid and do not make friends readily 
with other fowls. The farmer thought that the egg from which the 
quail was hatched was laid in the turkey’s nest and hatched out with 
the little turkeys, and that the quail grew up with them. If this is 
true, I suppose it thinks it is a turkey, if it thinks at all. 



CAROLINE’S PRAYERS HEARD 


57 


Several years ago I went out to hang np some clothes to dry, and 
I heard something crying like little turkeys. As we had no turkeys, I 
could not think what it was, but I decided to find out. I began searching 
in the tall blue grass and presently found a flock of baby quails. They 
were not much larger than my thumb. I caught one, but it was so 
frightened that I soon let it go. 

I found that the mother bird had hatched her babes in the comer 
of the yard, and when they saw me coming they hid in the grass. But 
the little ones had not learned to keep quiet, but ran from one tuft 
of grass to another and kept up their pitiful cries. They can run very 
fast as soon as they are hatched. —Nora Hunter. 


Caroline’s Prayers Heard 

NE time a little motherless Caroline was very hungry, and as there 
was nothing in the house to eat, she knelt down to ask the Lord 
to send her something. While she was still praying and crying, there 
was a knock at the door. She rose, wiped her eyes, and went to the 
door. There stood a little girl who had been sent by her mamma to tell 
Caroline that if she would go to a certain neighbor’s house some dis- 
tance away she would be given some food. 

When little Caroline reached the place, she was given a quantity 
of potatoes, onions, and cabbage, also a large loaf of bread. “Now,” 
thought she, “if I only had some lard and salt, what a good meal I 
could cook!” So as she walked along, she asked the Lord to supply 
these articles also. Soon she met a little girl who said, “We have been 
making sausage, and if you like you may have the soup that the sausage 
was cooked in to cook your vegetables in.” So Caroline joyfully ran 
to get a pail in which to carry the soup, and by the time she reached 
home she had all she had asked the Lord for. 

At one time Caroline had such sore eyes that she could scarcely 


58 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


see; so she was sent to a large city so that a physician there might 
operate on them. She did not want to go and begged not to be sent, 
but they said she must go. As they traveled along, she remembered 
having read in the Bible that Jesus healed people and opened the eyes 
of the blind. She began to pray and call upon God, and instantly her 
eyes were healed. She told those who were with her that she could see. 
Upon reaching the city she was taken to the hospital and examined by 
the physician, who said he could find nothing the matter with her eyes. 
After three days she was allowed to go back home again without having 
an operation. 

How happy this little girl then was to think that Jesus had an- 
swered her prayers ! No one had ever taught her to trust the Lord for 
healing, but she loved to read in the Bible, and believed that Jesus 
would do as he has promised. 

Caroline is now a young woman and has children of her own, whom 
she teaches to love and serve God, for she lias never forgotten how 
God answered her prayers. 

One winter Caroline’s husband, like many other men at that time, 
was out of work for a long time, and it costs so much to live in the city 
that it was hard for Caroline and her family. The day before Thanks- 
giving, Caroline sat reading about God’s having answered prayer for 
some one else, and while reading she thought of the chicken, turkey, 
goose, or duck that some people would have for dinner the next day, 
and wondered what she should have. She just sighed and told the 
Lord she would be satisfied with only a pound of soup-meat. 

In a short time there was a knock at the door, and, opening the 
door, she saw a boy with some things which he said his mother had sent. 
Caroline thought he must have made a mistake and told him so, but 
he said he was sure they were intended for her. There was a whole 
ham, a chicken, potatoes, apples, oranges, cranberries— in fact, all she 
needed for a good dinner. The Lord knew just what she needed, and 


SAVING A BUG’S LIFE 


59 


it seemed that he sent her many things because she was willing to get 
along with a very little. She had not asked but only sighed, and the 
Lord heard it. You know he tells us in his Word that “it shall come 
to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet 
speaking, I will hear” (Isa. 65:24). —Emma Krenz. 


Saving a Bug’s Life 

A LITTLE girl, seven years old, was walking to school one morning. 

She had to go about a quarter of a mile on the railroad 7 track. 
When she came to the crossroad where she was to get off, she saw a 
pretty little bug sitting on the rail. She also saw the fast train com- 
ing, but she stood still right on the track, waving her handkerchief for 
the train to stop to save the little bug’s life. The engineer blew the 
whistle for her to get off, but there she stood like a little hero till the 
train stopped and the conductor jumped off and asked her why she 
had stopped the train. 

“I saw such a pretty little bug sitting on the rail,” she said, “and 
I did not want it killed. But it is not there now; it flew away.” 

This happened in sight of my home. Now, this little girl’s mind 
was all taken up in saving the life of the bug. She never thought of 
the danger her own life was in. My little boys and girls, there are 
many things besides pretty bugs to attract your attention and take 
up your mind so that you will forget that your soul, which is of great 
value, is in danger of being lost if you are not saved from sin. Oh, 
how w<e need to watch and pray ! —Mother Smith. 


60 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


The Little Janitor 

^^FEW years ago there was a boy who had the care of a schoolhouse. 

It was a country school, and the teacher had hired him to do the 
janitor work. It was his place to go very early in the morning and 
build the fire in the stove, which was in the middle of the room; for 
he was to have the house warm, the floor swept, and everything in 
order by school-time. The boy was only a small lad, and sometimes 
he met with many difficulties in his work. 

One cold winter morning when he came to the schoolhouse and 
placed the key in the door, the lock refused to act. He could not turn 
the key. After trying it several times and failing, he went to the 
windows and tried them, but all were fastened. The air was frosty 
and biting cold. His hands and feet began to tingle on account of the 
frosty cold air. 

After trying and trying over and over again without success, he 
was almost discouraged. He thought of the children who would soon 
be there and find no fire to warm them and the house even closed; he 
thought also of the teacher, who would expect to find everything in 
proper order ; therefore the little fellow did not know what to do. As 
he stood thinking for a short time, it flashed into his mind that the 
Lord might possibly help him to open the door. He had learned that 
the Lord would answer prayer. Soon he prayed, “0 Lord, help me 
to open this door.” He tried the key once more, and it turned the 
lock. He felt very happy because the Lord had helped him to open 
the door. 

This should be a lesson to us all that when we do not know what 
to do, we can ask the Lord to help us. 


STEALING A RIDE 


61 


Stealing a Ride 

FEW months ago, while a large steamer was in the harbor at 
Yokohama, Japan, many people were bidding farewell to friends, 
and some of them went aboard the ship to give a last farewell greet- 
ing. Daring this time a yoang man went aboard, and when the whistle 
blew, and the gong soanded for all except passengers to get off the 
ship, this yoang man hid himself somewhere in the ship, intending to 
steal a ride to Honolala or America. The ship was hoand for San 
Francisco, Cal., across the Pacific Ocean. Soon the great vessel began 
to move oat of the harbor, and was on its way oat into the waters of 
the Pacific. 

At that time there was war between Rassia and Japan, and the 
day before some Rassian men-of-war vessels had been sighted, pass- 
ing the straits some distance away. After sailing for two or three 
hoars, oar ship saddenly stopped, the whistles began to soand shrill 
and load. The passengers coaid not imagine the canse of all this. 
After the signal whistles had ceased for a few minutes, they again 
blew load and long. Those who had spy-glasses were looking oat into 
the distance to see if any war-vessels coaid he sighted. Some one 
shonted that a vessel was sighted many miles away. Some sapposed 
that oar vessel had been halted by this other one. The officers woald 
not inform the passengers of the canse of the troable, hat assared them 
there was no danger. 

It was not long after the signal-whistle antil a small vessel was 
seen coming toward the ship. As it camie alongside oar ship, some 
officers broaght this yoang man upon the deck, let down a ladder, and 
reqaired him to climb dow!n the ladder into the small vessel. When 
he was thas broaght oat before the passengers, they knew at once the 
caase of the stopping of the ship. 

This yoang man was called a stowaway. When he was foand, he 
tried at first to make the parser, who was taking ap the tickets, believe 


62 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


that he was a passenger ; but he was soon detected as being a stowaway, 
or one who was stealing a ride. The other officers of the ship were 
soon informed, and this was the cause of the stopping of the ship. 

The officer on the small steamer took him in charge and started back 
to Yokohama, where, they said, he would be put in prison, and be taken 
into court, and there receive a sentence of punishment for such an act. 
Had he worked and earned money to take the ride honestly, there 
would have been no trouble. There is a passage of Scripture which 
says, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” 


An Imperishable Deed 

A 1 HTTLE girl, whose mother was a widow and was ill, stopped a 
young man on the street and begged him to buy some of her 
chestnuts. He was very poor, but could not withstand her pitiful look. 
He handed her a* coin, saying, “I can not use your chestnuts, but you 
are welcome to this.” The little girl thanked him and hurried away. 
Twenty years passed. The little girl grew to womanhood and became 
the wife of a great banker. Passing the library one evening, she saw 
with her husband a man whom she recognized as the man who years 
before had assisted her. When he had gone, she inquired his errand. 
“He came to see if I would give him a vacant position in the bank.” 
“Will you give it to him?” she asked. “I don’t know,” he replied. 
“I wish you would,” she said, and then recited the story of her poverty 
and the man’s generosity. 

As the man sat that night beside the bed of his sick wife, a liveried 
servant brought him a note. “We shall not starve,” he exclaimed to 
his wife; “I have the position.” On opening the note he found en- 
closed a check for $250 with these words: “In grateful remembrance 
of a little silver piece a kind stranger gave the little chestnut-girl 
twenty years ago.” 


HOW WILLIE’S FOOT WAS HEALED 


63 


Reader, a good deed is never lost. Giving brings material pros- 
perity to the giver. J esus says, ‘ ‘ Give, and it shall be given unto you ; 
good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, 
shall men give into your bosom. For with the measure that ye mete 
withal it shall be measured to you again.” “Bring ye all the tithes 
into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove 
me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the 
windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not 
be room enough to receive it.” —Selected. 


How Willie’s Foot was Healed 

i^OMEBODY has told the following story of a little boy named Wil- 
liam Peters, who is nine years old and who lives in a small town 
in the State of Maine. One day while he was playing in the yard with 
other children, he stepped on a nail, and it ran into his foot, making 
a bad wound. A doctor took care of the injured foot the best he could, 
but it grew worse instead of better. The boy’s father went to the city 
for a doctor, who said if they wished to save the boy’s life, the foot 
would have to be taken off. 

Of course, they thought it was better to have a lame boy than to 
lose their little Willie, and they planned a day to have the foot taken 
off ; but Willie thought he could not stand having only one foot all his 
life. He was a Christian boy, and thought God might help him ; so he 
prayed this prayer: 

“0 blessed Savior, the doctors can not save my poor foot, and I 
can not bear to have it taken off. If you were here on earth now, my 
papa would send to you, and you would lay your hand upon it and 
make it well ; I know you Would. O blessed Jesus, you can do it just 
as well as if you were here, can’t you? And I know you will.” 


64 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


After this Willie was quiet and did not seem to dread the morrow 
when his foot was to be taken off. 

The next day the doctor came to do it, but when the doctor looked 
at the foot he was very much surprized, and said it was much better 
and would not need to be taken off. Then the doctor asked what they 
had done to make it better. Willie looked up with a smiling face and 
said: “I asked Jesus to save my foot, and he did it. Don’t you love 
him, doctor?” 

By faith Willie’s foot was healed, just as by faith the walls of 
Jericho fell. -—Selected. 


A Child’s Prayer Answered 

'J^HIS is a true story of a little girl named Alice, who had been sur- 
rounded with plenty and had known no care until she was about 
eight years old. Then her father decided to go west and try a new 
country. Everything was sold except a good wagon and a fine team 
of horses. With these the father decided to travel through the country 
to the place where he wanted to go. He took with him his wife and 
five children. After a long, tiresome journey they reached their desti- 
nation. The country, being new, was very thinly settled, and as only 
a few people lived there, few crops had been raised. Soon the money 
of the new-comers was gone, one of the horses died, and one adversity 
followed another. The first year there was a drouth. The next spring 
the father planted his crops, but it seemed as if there wlould be another 
drouth. 

When the father came in one evening, he said, “If it doesn’t rain 
soon, we won’t raise anything this year, and we shall all starve.” 

Oh, how this touched the heart of Alice, who was next to the oldest 
of the children! By this time there was another baby brother. How 


A CHILD’S PRAYER ANSWERED 


65 



66 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


could she see these brothers and sisters whom she loved so dearly 
starve to death? 

She went into a dark corner of the room and cried and prayed. Her 
mother had taught the children to pray that little prayer which begins, 
“Now I lay me down to sleep,” but this time Alice prayed more than 
that. 

When supper was ready the mother wanted to know where Alice 
was. She finally found her and asked what was the matter, but Alice 
would not tell, nor would she eat any supper. Anxiously she waited 
for the rest to go to bed so she could be alone. When they were at last 
in bed, she waited for them to go to sleep. All the family slept in one 
room. When all was quiet, she slipped out of bed. 

She knelt by the side of the bed and began to pray. She asked God 
to let it rain so the children would not starve. While she prayed, a 
beautiful light brighter than that of diamonds came from heaven down 
to her bedside. It was like a shining path. Oh ! how happy she was ! 
She had asked the Lord for rain, and he was going to let it rain. She 
was so happy that she could scarcely keep still. She feared to make 
a noise, that would awaken her father, for he was a very stern man and 
she was afraid of him. 

She got in bed and listened for the raindrops. She knew it was 
going to rain. In a few minutes raindrops pattered on the roof. She 
was so happy she could scarcely contain herself. Finally, she went 
to sleep. 

Next morning there was a surprize for her father. He wondered 
why it had rained when there was no sign of rain the evening before. 
Now there would be a crop and all would be well. 


^—Mciry W Hand. 


“BIG JAMES” 


67 


“Big James” 

J AMBS PATTERSON is the name that stands upon his tombstone, 
but he was better known in life as “Big James.” He was a Scottish 
fisherman, a magnificent Titan of a man, with the gigantic bulk, the 
waving hair and streaming beard of the old vikings, an old man, and 
one of the grandest Christians I ever knew. 

He sailed in the fishing-boat, Pilgrim Fathers. Among the crew 
was the very antithesis of Big James— a young man of thirty years of 
age, and one of the most blasphemous daredevils in the whole fleet— 
“Black Jock.” And it was known all along the coast that for many 
years “Big James” had been seeking “to save the soul” of “Black 
Jock.” 

On the evening of the 16th of April, 1889, the old fishing-boat, 
Pilgrim Fathers , struck a reef on the Scottish coast and immediately 
went down. But the crew of seven men climbed out upon a neighbor- 
ing rock. Their position was one of the utmost peril. The rock was 
only thirty yards from the shore, but a deep, impassable channel lay 
between. It was impossible from the situation for any boat to approach 
to their rescue. Darkness was falling, and a wild gale was rapidly 
rising. In addition to all this, although at the time of the accident the 
tide was at the ebb and the rock was exposed for several feet above 
water, the tide was now rising, and unless they were rescued within 
the hour every man would be swept to a watery grave. 

A great crowd of people had gathered on the beach at the first news 
of the accident. But the gale defeated for a while all attempts at 
rescue. The life-boat was launched, but it was useless. Strong arms 
heaved life-lines, but the wind hurled them back in the men’s faces. 
At last a rocket was fired with a line attached to it, and, amid loud 
cheering, the line fell across the rock, and one man was hauled through 
the surf. Another rocket was fired and another man was rescued, and 


68 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


this was repeated until of the whole crew only two remained. These 
two were “ Black Jock” and “Big James.” 

But time had been lost. The waves were washing across the surface 
of the rock. The men were on their faces, clutching the sharp edges 
with bleeding fingers. It was at this moment that the crowd saw the 
rope shoot into the air behind the screaming rocket once again and 
fall straight into the hands of the old man, “Big James.” What a 
cheer went aloft! But it died away in dismay, for a large wave had 
smothered both the prostrate, clinging figures in a mass of foam. In 
a few seconds it had passed again. Then the grand old Christian rose ; 
holding the rope with one hand, he raised his companion to his feet 
with the other, and, “Tak* the rope,” said the old man, “and meet me 
up yonder— guid-by!” So saying, he thrust the rope into his com- 
panion’s hands; and in another moment “Black Jock,” a pale, 
changed man, was safe on shore. 

“Big James” watched him until he landed. Several waves struck 
him; but by a miracle he recovered himself— until his companion was 
safe. Then he turned to face the wide sea. He clasped his hands 
above his head. A wave struck him. He staggered. “Come quickly, 
Lord Jesus!” he cried in a loud voice. There was a rush of white 
water, and “Big James” had gone to his Savior! 

—From “True Stories of Heroic Lives.” 


Saved by Kneeling 

H UMBLE people are saved from many of the evils that overtake 
the proud-hearted, but a certain woman in Pittsburg, Pa., had, 
in a very strange way, a miraculous escape from death through praying. 

It is recorded that on the third day of February, 1873, there were 
no less than six steam-boiler explosions in Syracuse, Philadelphia, and 
Pittsburg, causing the death of eighteen persons and the scalding and 


SAVED BY KNEELING 


69 


wounding of forty-eight others, who were nearly all working-men. 
Sorrow and distress were thereby carried into many homes ; but in the 
midst of calamity there was one instance in which the Lord stretched 
forth his hand in protection. 

In Pittsburg the wife of one of the employees at the mill where the 
disaster occurred, when she heard the noise of the exploding boilers, 
was moved, it would seem, by some mighty impulse, and instantly she 
fell on her knees and commenced to pray. Just then a two hundred 
pound fragment of a boiler crashed through the room in the very place 
where her head would have been had she remained standing. Thus 
by a happy inspiration and a devoted act, her life was saved. 

We know not how many dangers lurk in our way, and it is well for 
us to ever seek the protection of One who sees the dangers we do not 
see. Jesus says, “Men ought always to pray.” 

Once the writer was working at the bottom of an elevator-shaft, 
digging a foundation for an elevator that was to be placed in a build- 
ing. Two men were hoisting heavy bundles of paper to the third floor 
from the first by a “rope and tackle.” In some way a bundle of paper 
became loosened and went crashing down through the boards that cov- 
ered the shaft-opening at the first floor. 

I was just below. You know, perhaps, that bundles of paper are 
very solid and heavy. Had the bundle struck me, I might have been 
instantly killed. But God was there to protect. There was no time 
to escape. Down came the broken boards and the heavy bundle. Some 
fell in front of me, some to my right, and some to my left, and some 
perhaps behind me, but I escaped without a scratch. At that instant 
the Lord seemed very near to me. Praise his dear name! “Because 
he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him” (Psa. 91 :14) . 

—Robert Rothman. 


70 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


A Little Russian Girl’s Faithfulness 

|^OME years ago, when the light of the gospel first began to shine in 
dark Russia, among those wjho accepted it was a girl about eleven 
years old and her mother. They lived in one of the little villages in 
the southwestern part of the country. At that time religious freedom 
was not granted, and the state church, with the help of the government, 
persecuted the hypocrites, as the Christians were called, put them into 
prisons, separated children from their parents, and otherwise op- 
pressed them. But most of them, having the burning love of Christ 
in their hearts, endured to the end. 

This little girl’s faith, love, and courage were an inspiration to 
many of the older ones, and she and her mother were real examples 
of Christianity. 

A short time after becoming a Christian, her dear mother died and 
her father married again, bringing a step-mother into the home. Then 
the dark days began for our little friend. Although faithful and sub- 
missive to her new mother, she was often punished without cause, and 
compelled to do all kinds of hard work. Her step-sister also treated 
her very cruelly, even pinching her at times. Her father, though not 
opposed to her faith, did not seem to care how she was treated. 

But our little Christian did not lose courage. Her trials and perse- 
cutions only made her cling closer to her Savior, whom she loved with 
all her heart. She eagerly waited for the time when she could go to 
meeting and sing and pray with others of God’s children. The strain 
of hard work, however, was too much for her frail body, and she became 
very ill. The doctors said that there was no hope for her recovery. 
She felt that she would soon pass away from her trials and troubles 
to be with the Lord. When her brethren and sisters in the Lord visited 
her and tried to encourage her by telling her that she would soon 
recover and again go to meeting, she answered, “No, I want to go to 


TELEGRAPH TO JESUS 


71 


my Jesus; I want to be with him.” All their encouragement seemed 
to avail nothing, and she continued to decline rapidly. 

One day when the brethren and sisters were gathered in her room, 
her step-sister also being present, it seemed that she would not live 
very much longer. Although not able to speak in an audible voice, she 
praised the Lord and told them of his love and saving grace. At last 
she asked them to sing the song she loved so much — “There is a better 
land on high, beautiful land, beautiful land”— and while they were 
singing she quietly passed away. Her step-sister, touched by what she 
had witnessed, regretted her ill treatment of the child, was convicted 
of her sins, and fell on her knees crying to God for mercy and pardon, 
and the Lord saved her. 

Children, do you think our little friend lived in vain? Be encour- 
aged ! If your parents, brothers, or sisters are not saved, you may be 
the means of winning them to Christ, if you live a true and faithful 
life. And if you are blessed by having Christian parents, how much 
more grateful you ought to be! —H. Centz. 


Telegraph to Jesus 

Q EVE5RAL years ago I was traveling on a train in the West. Among 
the passengers in our car was a young mother traveling alone with 
her first baby. There was also a well-dressed woman with two chil- 
dren, the older a boy of about twelve years, and the younger a rollick- 
ing little chap of four. The latter was so clever and merry and restless 
that he attracted a great deal of attention. 

At noon our train stopped at a station for dinner, and all the pas- 
sengers except those who had lunch with them left the car. 

A few minutes later the conductor came through and ordered 
to move to the car forward, as the train was to be broken into sections 


72 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


After some switching about, our train was made up, and the bell began 
to ring as a signal to the absent passengers. 

All at once we were startled by a loud scream, and turned to see 
the young mother rushing frantically through the car followed by the 
conductor and brakeman. She had left her sleeping baby and her lug- 
gage in the car we had formerly occupied, and had foolishly gone away 
to dinner without asking any one to watch the child. Consequently, in 
the hurried change of cars it had been unnoticed, and now car and baby 
were gone. Our train was held while trainmen and passengers hurried 
about searching for the lost child. 

We were all much excited— none more so than the little four-year- 
old boy, who danced about and asked innumerable questions of every 
one. Finally, standing up in one of the foremost seats of the car, his 
cheeks flushed, his eyes shining with excitement, in an interval of 
silence, his clear baby voice floated down the car: “Why don’t they 
telegraph to Jesus'? Why don’t they telegraph to Jesus? That’s what 
I’d do if that baby was mine.” 

Tears started from my eyes at these words of childish wisdom. His 
faith had turned to the sure source of help and deliverance; and I do 
not doubt that many telegrams went up at once from that crowded car. 

The baby was found and delivered to its mother, the trainmen re- 
turned to their posts, and our journey w?as resumed. But the seed 
sown by the wayside by a baby’s hand had surely sprung up and brought 
forth fruit in more than one heart. —Selected. 


Tragic End of Two Bird Families 
/ ~J~ V HE first family I shall' tell you about lived among the vines that 
surrounded our back porch. We watehed Mrs. Robin as she car- 
ried her first mouthful of dried grass high up into the vines. Back 
and forth she went, each time carrying a little material to make up the 


TRAGIC END OF TWO BIRD FAMILIES 


73 


nest that was soon to be the home of her and her family. How she 
worked and hurried about, rounding the nest to suit her own idea of 
what a pretty home should be! Soon the nest was finished, and in a 
few days I noticed that a piece of old shingle had been placed against 
the south side of the nest as if for protection from the wind and rain. 
It hardly seemed possible that she could be so wise. 

Well, you are wondering what came next. Three little blue eggs, 
of course ; but alas ! one fell to the cement porch and was broken. Day 
after day, week after week, the happy robin sat upon the remaining 
eggs, leaving only when she would become frightened at some one’s 
near approach. Soon I noticed that she did not leave the nest so often, 

but faithfully stayed in her little 
home. And no wonder, for even 
before I was aware of it, she was 
the proud mother of two ugly, 
large-mouthed birdlings. How 
fast they grew! Before we knew 
it, they had outgrown their soft, 
woolly coats, and were actually 
trying to stretch themselves out 
of the nest, flapping their wings 
and trying to fly. It took many 
large worms for them, for oh, what 
an appetite they had! How they 
stretched their long necks and opened their big mouths when they saw 
Father or Mother Robin coming with nice fat worms ! 

I wish that I were able to say that the little robins learned to use 
their wings and soar high in the sky, delighting many with their happy 
songs ; but alas ! I can not. Just when they were nearly large enough 
to fly, they became frightened one day when the parent birds were away, 
and jumped from their nest to the ground. Thy as we would to keep 



74 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


them in their nest, they would not stay. Fearing that some animal 
would devour them during the night, we picked up the poor, little, help- 
less things and put them under the house. Next morning we hurried 
to see if they were still there, and they were. But farther and farther 
back under the house they went until they could be seen no longer. 
What became of them we were not able to learn. A cat may have eaten 
them; the mother bird may have found them and taken them away; they 
may have stayed under the house until they starved and died. One 
thing we noticed was that the mother never came back to her home in 
the vines. We were sorry to lose our little neighbors. Their empty 
nest among the vines often reminds us of our feathered friends. 

The second family I wish to tell you about built their nest in the 
vines on our front porch a little later. This nest was higher up, and 
we had to climb in order to see into it. In the spring when the vines 
were trimmed, the old nest of the summer before was thrown away. 
Robin completed her new nest before we were aware of her plans. We 
did not see the eggs, as the nest was so high up; but when we saw the 
parent birds coming, first one then the other, with large worms in their 
mouths, our curiosity was aroused; so up we climbed. There were 
three hairy baby robins, so hungry that it kept both parents busy carry- 
ing worms to them. 

One day we became anxious regarding the little birds’ welfare. The 
parents seemed to stay away so long, and the babies- were very hungry. 
They stretched their necks and opened their mouths again and again, 
but all in vain ; for no one came to feed them. We went into the garden 
and dug some worms. One little bird ate two or three of these, but we 
could not get the others to open their mouths. That evening we were 
glad to see that the mother bird had returned to her nest. 

A short time after our interesting experience in feeding the baby 
birds, something happened. During the night I was awakened by a 


EXPERIENCE; WITH A RATTLESNAKE 75 

shrill cry ! The birds wlere in trouble. What a loud, mournful cry ! 
The next morning I hastened to the nest. All the birds were gone, as 
I had feared. We searched the ground for a trace of our feathered 
friends, but could find nothing to give us a clue of their fate. Could 
a snake have crawled up the vines ! Could a cat or some other animal 
have devoured them? We can not say, but, as in the case of the other 
family of robins, the parent birds never returned to their nest. Bare 
and empty it hangs among the vines. No more chirping and twittering, 
no more calls from the mother bird to her mate, no more little mouths 
open to be fed. This family indeed had a sad end. 

—Agnes E. Tuttle. 


Experience with a Rattlesnake 

NE beautiful morning in the fall I was busily engaged in a garden 
near my home in Florida. I was picking up the bright yellow 
pumpkins, and laying them around on the stumps that they might ripen 
and sweeten. Picking up several small ones, I walked up to a certain 
stump to dispose of them. I had put only one down when I was startled 
by a very large rattlesnake. These snakes are known to be very poi- 
sonous. The moment I saw the reptile, it threw itself back and began 
to jar its rattles. I am sure it was not more than one foot from me. 
Instantly I jumped away, but God’s strength was the means of getting 
me away before I was bitten. 

After realizing that I had escaped from the hideous creature, I was 
filled with praise and thanks to God for saving me from such an awful 
death. By throwing some small stones. or pebbles at the snake I suc- 
ceeded in getting it in its coil. T did this so that it would not run away 
in the weeds and escape. Still watching it, I called to the house for 


76 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


somebody to come and kill it. The men all being away from home, the 
responsibility fell on the lady with whom I lived. 

In listening to my call she could catch the word “snake.” After 
getting a shotgun, she could only find two shells, which were loaded 
with buckshot. Taking these, she came to where I was waiting. She 
loaded the gun and aimed at the snake, which was lying very still. But 
in shooting she missed it about six inches because she was very nervous 
and frightened. She tried the other shell and broke the snake’s back 
about six inches from its head. Thus preventing it from traveling very 
far. We succeeded in killing the snake. 

How I rejoiced that God had thus kept me from an awful fate ! 

—Inez L. Lane. 


A Flower in Prison 

A MAN named Charney was put in prison by Napoleon, the great 
French general and emperor, because he was thought to be an 
enemy to the government. 

Charney walked about in the walled court day after day. One day 
he saw a little plant pushing up between the stones. How it came 
there he could not tell. Perhaps some one had carelessly dropped the 
seed. He watched it and cared for it the best he could. Shut within 
those walls, away from all his friends, not permitted to interest him- 
self in reading or writing, he was glad to have this little living thing 
to watch over and love. It brought much cheer to him in his lonely 
hours. He observed this flowter as he had never observed a flower 
before. 

Soon little buds began to grow on the plant. They kept growing 
larger and larger. Anxiously Charney awaited the time when they 
should open. He did not know the name of the plant. Finally the 


A FLOWER IN PRISON 


77 


blossoms appeared. What pretty flowers they were ! They had three 
colors— white, purple, and rose-color; and there was a delicate silvery 
fringe all around the edge. Never had any flowers looked so beautiful 
to him as these. 

Charney guarded his plant carefully. To protect it from the wind 
or from some careless footstep he built a framework over it of such 
things as he could get. One day there was a hail-storm. Charney 
went out and bent oyer his flower to protect it from the hail. 

The plant was something more than a comfort and a pleasure to 
Charney. It taught him some things that he did not know before, al- 
though he was a wise man. When he went into the prison, he did not 
believe that there is a God, but as he watched his beloved flower, its 
opening beauties told him that there is a God. He felt that none but 
God could make that flow;er. He said that that flower had taught him 
more than he had learned from the wise men of earth. 

A time came when the plant looked as if it were going to die. Char- 
ney felt very sad. He wished that he might take away the stones and 
loosen the earth around it. This he could not do without permission. 
Now, an Italian girl came once in a while to visit a certain prisoner. 
She was much impressed with the tender care Charney took of his 
plant. She managed to see the Empress Josephine and told her about 
it. Charney was given permission to do with the plant as he wished, 
and soon it was as bright as ever. 

Josephine was a lover of flowers. So she took an interest in Charney. 
She inquired about him and then persuaded Napoleon to set him free. 

When Charney left the prison, he took the plant with him to his 
home. He could not part with the sweet companion that had cheered 
him in his lonely prison life, had taught him such lessons of wisdom, 
and was at last the means of setting him free. 


78 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


Saved from Wolves 

T N THE town of Plattville, Colo., there lived, some years ago, a girl 
A named Sutherland, aged about nine years. Near her home were 
large forests in which fierce wolves roamed and sought their prey. 
Perhaps you know that wolves are fearful animals to meet, especially 
when there are a number of them together. Often they attack travelers. 

This little girl one day went with her father to the woods to find the 
cattle. She was told to follow the calves home while her father con- 
tinued his search for the cows. In some way the calves misled her, 
and very soon she became aware of the fact that she was lost. Night 
came on, and with it the cold of November and the dreaded wolves. 

The next day, Sunday, at ten in the morning, it is told, she reached 
the home of John Beebe, near a place called Evans, having traveled 
constantly eighteen hours and a distance of not less than twenty-five 
miles. All night the wolves growled around her, but harmed her not; 
neither was she in the least frightened by them. In ordinary cases 
fierce packs of blood-thirsty wolves would devour a man and even a 
horse. But this little girl was invincible in her simple, trusting faith. 

The narrative states: “She said that the wolves kept close to her 
heels and snapped at her feet ; but her mother had told her that if she 
was good the Lord would always take care of her, and so she knew 
the wolves would not hurt her, because God wouldn’t let them.” The 
child was hunted for by a great number of people, and, when found, 
was restored in perfect health and soundness to her parents. 

What a blessed faith that child had ! It was in perfect accord with 
the promise of Jesus as recorded in Luke 10:19. Speaking to those 
who believed, he said, “Nothing shall by any means hurt you.” To be 
sure, the Lord does not want us to be reckless and to expose ourselves ; 
but if we should happen to get into a place of danger, let us pray and 
believe with all our heart that God will deliver us. 


A YOUNG HEROINE 


79 


This little girl had it right when she knew that in order for her to 
be entitled to the Lord’s protection she must be good. Let us be care- 
ful to do our part and then we can easily trust God to do his part. 

It will strengthen your faith in the protecting power of God if you 
will read the experience of Daniel as given in the sixth chapter of the 
book of that name. This man of God had lived right, and the Lord saw 
fit to shut the mouths of the lions so they could do Daniel no harm. 
Daniel could say to the king: “My God hath sent his angel, and hath 
shut the lions ’ mouths, that they have not hurt me : forasmuch as be- 
fore him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, 0 king, 
have I done no hurt.” Our God is great. — Robert Rothman. 


A Young Heroine 

T HE Cubans were fighting for their independence. They desired 
to be freed from the Spanish yoke. Brave hearts were needed, and 
these were found in Cuba’s men and boys— not only in these, but also 
in the mothers and daughters. 

One of the most thrilling tales of heroism during the war was that 
of a twelve-year-old girl— Conchita. 

General Gomez desired to unite the Cuban forces against the Spanish 
genera], who had twenty-five hundred men. A young lieutenant— a boy 
in his teens — was ordered to ride to Colonel Pena, a distance of seventy 
miles, and tell him to bring his four hundred men without delay. The 
old general thought that with a thousand men he could stop the Span- 
iards. The lad rode all day as fast as his horse could carry him. Just 
at dusk he had the misfortune of running into a company of Spaniards, 
who were putting their horses out to graze. They fired at him and 
wounded him severely, but he managed to escape and ride to his home 
nine miles away. He arrived exhausted and covered with blood. His 


80 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


kind mother and sisters dressed his wounds and stopped the blood while 
he told his mission and ordered a fresh horse saddled. The distracted 
mother begged him not to go, but he thought he must be true to his 
country. 

A servant went to get the horse ready, but soon returned saying 
that the horse was gone. “What shall T do?” cried the brave boy. 
Just then the horse was seen speeding away in the Cuban twilight, 
and on his back was Conchita, the youngest sister of the boy. As horse 
and rider vanished in the gathering darkness, the family recognized her. 
A storm was gathering, and the mother called for her daughter to 
return, but on sped the young rider through the darkness. There was 
no one to send to bring her back, and the mother said, “It is for Cuba,” 
and turned again to her wounded son. 

Conchita had learned what her brother’s message was, and without 
saying a word to any one she had slipped out and saddled the horse 
and started to Colonel Pena’s camp, twelve miles distant. 

She knew the road and the horse was fresh. She put the spurs on 
him and rode like the wind through the darkness. Soon the storm broke, 
and she was drenched and beaten down in her saddle by the downpour 
of rain and gusts of wind, and was blinded by the sheets of water that 
dashed before her face. Her hair hung in soaked masses about her 
shoulders, little rivulets trickling from each point. But the brave girl 
did not think of turning back. 

She made the distance in record-breaking time. As Colonel Pena 
was about to turn in for the night, this soaked, drenched, panting little 
creature slipped from her horse almost into his hammock and said, 
“Please, Colonel Pena, General Gomez wants you and your men at 
Saratoga.” 

The startled colonel wondered at first whether this was a ghost, but 
after he had assured himself that it was a real live girl, he ordered out 


SAVED BY MOTHER’S PRAYERS 


81 


his men. But instead of four hundred there were only thirty ; the others 
had been sent to another place. The courage of the young heroine 
inspired the colonel and he set out with his small escort. 

He took the blanket out of his hammock and wrapped the half- 
drowned little heroine in it, and placed her before him on his own 
saddle and carried her thus all the way to her home. The storm had 
ended and the stars were shining from the clear sky. Conchita was 
soon asleep in the land of dreams. The humble palm hut, Conchita ’s 
home, was reached by midnight. The clatter of hoofs on the midnight 
air had awakened the family. As the colonel lifted the child down, he 
addressed the mother and said, “Both your son and your daughter 
are worthy of Cuba.” 

Then off rode the colonel ; and it was at the battle ’of Saratoga that 
General Gomez gave him the title, “The Fighting Colonel of Cama- 
guey.” 


Saved by Mother’s Prayers 

T) AY’S mother is a minister of the gospel, and one time while several 
miles from home holding a meeting, she was deeply impressed to 
pray God for the protection of her dear boy during her absence. 

When she returned home, Ray said, “Mother, did you have any 
bad dreams about me while you were gone?” She replied, “No; but I 
have never prayed more earnestly for you than I did while there, and 
I felt that God heard my prayer.” 

Ray then related the sad experience he had had a few evenings 
before, while out with his companions. 

They had gone to the river for a swim. Soon they were bantering 
each other to see who could dive to the bottom of the river, a handful 
of mud being the evidence of success. Ray was a good swimmer. He 
dived to the bottom and returned with the handful of mud, but, alas! 


82 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


he had come up under a large raft of logs that lay on the side of the 
river. What was to he done now! Ray realized the situation was 
grave. He fought desperately for life, but in vain. He could find no 
way out from beneath the awful ledge of logs that seemed to cover him 
like a pall. After struggling for some time he lost all hope and began 
to swallow water as fast as he could, believing death to be inevitable. 
He was going down the last time— and his soul unsaved! 

WTien the other hoys saw that Ray did not come up again, they 
became frightened, and all ran a way except one. There was only one 
brave, noble boy among Ray’s companions, and this boy stayed by the 
river, determined to help Ray if he could. He was watching carefully 
all round him for some sign of his drowning friend. Suddenly a hand 
came up through an opening in the raft. He ran quickly to the opening 
and waited anxiously. In a short time Ray’s head appeared above the 
water near the same place. Dewey quickly sprang to his rescue and 
caught him just as he was going down the last time. He dragged Ray 
from the river and then with a courageous heart set to work to bring 
him back to life, rolling him over the logs and rubbing him vigorously 
to produce circulation. Thus Ray’s life was saved through the heroic 
efforts of his friend, in answer to his mother’s prayer. 

When the story was ended, the mother’s heart was full of praise to 
God, and long will she hold in loving remembrance the heroic lad who 
was instrumental in saving her boy’s life. — Pina Winters. 


A Courageous Boy 

/ T V HERE lived in one of the Eastern States a man and his wife and 
one child, a little boy of seven years. These parents were Chris- 
tians, and they strove to bring up their little boy to fear and love the 
Lord and to be a good citizen of his county. 

Last Fourth of July this little family went on a crowded excursion 


A COURAGEOUS BOY 


83 


train to attend a large camp-meeting in a Southern State. Their train 
unfortunately ran into a heavy freight, and many of the passengers were 
killed and others seriously injured. Among the killed were the father 
and mother of this little boy, whose namje was Wayne. 

As soon as possible after the terrible accident, kind-hearted men 
and women came to the rescue of these unfortunate passengers, help- 
ing them out of the ruins of the heavy curs. They found poor little 
Wayne pinned under a heavy piece of timber with one arm torn off at 
the shoulder and his skull fractured and side crushed. Yet the brave 
little fellow said, “I am not hurt much; please get my papa and mama 
out first.” They did not consider it wise to tell him yet that they were 
dead, but proceeded to help him out as tenderly as possible. 

When he was released from all the debris, he was so weak from his 
serious injuries and great loss of blood that they feared he would soon 
die. They offered him some whisky, thinking it would revive him, but 
he steadily refused to touch it. Then they insisted, but he bravely 
said: “I will die before I will drink it. My father and mother do not 
drink it, and I will not.” How noble of one so young to have such 
regard for his parents’ careful training and godly example. When 
so near death he wnuld not taste liquor even though it might save his 
life. 

Wayne was taken to a hospital, and in six days afterward was 
visited by his uncle, who found him to be rapidly recovering. He did 
not know as yet the fate of his dear parents, but was now told by his 
uncle that they were in heaven. His little chest heaved and his weak 
frame shook with emotion, but the brave little fellow said never a word.. 
His parents had taught him to love Jesus, and he really loved him so 
that he did not complain when Providence took his own parents to be 
with Jesus forever. 

What a dowry these parents left their little son! Though they may 
not have left him much of this world’s goods, yet they had taught him 


84 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


to remember his Creator in the days of his youth. Though he was left 
without father or mother or brother or sister and with but one arm to 
face the battles of life, yet if God be for him, who can be against him? 

Wayne has now gone to live with his grandparents in Michigan, 
who we hope will live such godly lives before him that he will be con- 
strained never to forsake the Lord whom he learned so early in child- 
hood to love. —Eva M. W ray. 


The Match-Box Services 

TNT A CERTAIN small city live two Christian girls who are loved by all 
A who know them because of their pure and noble characters. For sev- 
eral years they tenderly cared for their aged mother. One day her heav- 
enly Father called her to her eternal home. Now the two sisters live alone. 
How lonely they often feel and how often they ask the Lord to make 
them happy and useful ! 

For seven years these two girls have done all they could to increase 
the attendance in their little Sunday-school. In spite of their diligent 
efforts it seemed hard to get new ones interested in their work. This, 
however, did not discourage them. They kept on trying. Sunday after 
Sunday found them in the little place of meeting. Some one said the 
little room reminded him of a match-box, and others called their services 
the match-box worship. 

Sometimes only a few children came to Sunday-school. One time a 
minister came and preached to the congregation, which consisted of only 
seven small children. These girls were thankful for even that number, 
and did not complain in the least. Do you not think it was because they 
felt the satisfaction of having done their best? 

Time went on. They asked the Lord to prepare a way for a series 
of meetings to be conducted in their city. By and by the way opened, and 
a successful meeting was held. How they thanked God when he really 
answered their prayer ! The twp sisters did all they could to get the 
people to attend. The people in due respect began to attend the meet- 
ing. Often the large tent was crowded, and, best of all, several souls 
were saved. 

“What about the Sunday-school now?” inquired an interested friend. 


A MOTHER OF PIONEER DAYS 


85 


“Oh, the match-box would not hold the eager boys and girls. It 
was too crowded. They sought larger quarters. And now,” continued 
the speaker, ‘ ‘ they occupy a pice hall in the main part of the city, and 
every Sunday many hearts are made glad when they study the beautiful 
lessons from Grod’s Word.” 

How did it all come about I and why does the story end so> beautifully! 
It is hard to answer — because of the love and faithfulness manifested 
in the lives of these two Christian girls. —Ada Pope. 


A Mother of Pioneer Days 

T ST MONTANA, during the seventies, a pioneer family lived in a log hut 
A near the foot of the hill, over which the winding road led toward 
the Oregon country. The name of this family was Wade, and Mr. 
Wade was commonly called “Jimmy,” and for some reason Mrs. Wade 
was called “Mrs. Jimmy.” 

“Mrs. Jimmy,” having an unusual fund of good nature, was called 
the “sunshine of Kalispel Trail.” The first government custodian of 
Yellowstone Park said of her: 

“The meanest grizzly that ever crossed the Divide would have to 
laugh if it saw the smiling face of Mrs. Jimmy.” 

Past the Wade home ran the trails towards the West. Heavy freight- 
ing teams driven by rough men, outfits of new settlers, and bands of 
Indians were constantly passing. 

In those days it seemed to be the general idea that horses and oxen 
could not be driven without extreme brutality. The pioneer family was 
witness to much of this, for at a heavy grade on the trail near the Wade 
home the overdriven animals suffered terribly at the hands of cruel, 
cursing drivers. 

“Some of the scenes,” said the twelve-year-old son of this pioneer 
family, ‘ ‘ were terrible, and many a time I have seen my usually sweet- 
tempered mother clench her hands and her eyes fill with tears because 
of the sights we had to witness. ’ ’ 

One day when an overloaded sixmule team was being treated with ex- 
ceptional brutality, the pioneer mother walked down to the trail and 
said to the head driver : 


86 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


“I want that to stop. You take the mules out, rub them dowta, feed 
and rest them, and they’ll make the grade all right.” 

The man, being angry, uttered an oath and told the woman to go 
back and mind her own affairs. She turned quickly, went back to the 
house, secured the repeating rifle, and returned. 

“Now,” said she, “the first man that strikes a mule again I’ll shoot. 
If you want to rest the animals, my boys will help you; but beat them, 
you can ’t. Rest them or fight. ’ ’ 

The driver hesitated, then began to laugh. The pluck, of Mrs. Jimmy 
had touched a better side of his nature. Mjrs. Wade called her two boys, 
who helped unhitch the mules. After a rest and feed the mules took 
up their burden with ease. 

The word went along the trail that Mrs. Jimmy had started a school 
for unfeeling drivers. 

In a short time this sign appeared at the foot of the troublesome 
grade : 

Rest Your Teams Here Before 
Trying Grade. Be Merciful. 

A few cowboys vowed they would shoot this sign full of holes ; but, 
singularly enough, it was the teamsters who told them that there would 
be a row if they touched it. 

Now, that the teamsters had begun to heed Mrs. Jimmy, she had 
the children carry fresh water to the grade for the weary travelers. 
When her stock of provisions was good, she would make panfuls of 
cookies, and these would be passed among the drivers and emigrants. 

One day a driver came up to the house and said that one of his com- 
rades was very sick. Mrs. Wade hastened down to the wagon-trail 
and found the man in the last stages of consumption and dying. It 
was very evident that he could live but a short time. He knew Mrs. 
Wade, as he had been one of the teamsters whom she had induced to 
quit cursing and beating his animals. 

His companions had laid him in the shade of a wagon and propped 
up his head with a saddle and blankets. The mother knelt beside him, 
and the boys stood back of her. All about them stretched the rough 
plain, and in the distance was the line of the mountains. 


TOPBY 


87 


“D’ye think, Mrs. Jimmy,’’ gasped the man, “God’ll give me a 
square deal when I get over the ‘Divide’!” 

“He’s square with everybody,” whispered the mother, and she 
began to sing, ‘ ‘ Hock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee. ’ ’ 
The poor man soon closed his eyes and passed over the “Great 
Divide,” and was buried that evening on a grassy slope near the trail, 
Mrs. Wade conducting the services. 

The respect of the rough men of the frontier for Mrs. Wade grew 
with the months, and one of the drivers was heard to remark: “I stop 
cussing an’ all foolishness when I get within five miles of Mrs. Jim- 
my’s shack.” —Wm. A. Bixler. 


Topsy 

npOPSY was a white angora goat that lived on a ranch in beautiful 
southern California. Her company consisted of two large goats 
and some little ones. Two of the little ones were Topsy ’s own dear 
babies. 

Topsy liked her home, liked the company of the goats, and she 
dearly loved her little kids; but poor Topsy could not enjoy these 
things. She must be useful, and it was to be at a great sacrifice to 
herself. 

A dear, sick girl lived in the mountains, and Topsy must go to be 
a benefit to her. Do you wonder how Topsy could be beneficial to a 
sick girl! Well, it was in this way: There Was no cow on the mountain 
to furnish milk, and as goats’ milk is considered excellent food for 
invalids and infants, Topsy was purchased for the purpose of provid- 
ing milk. 

Poor Topsy! This was a sad time for her and for the little kids. 
When they saw their mama leaving, they cried as plaintively as little 
human babies, and sounded so much like them that you would have 
almost believed they were if you had heard but not seen them. Topsy 


88 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


answered by blatting piteously, but it was of no avail, for she had to 
go, never to see them again. 

The long journey and the trip up the mountain were very tiresome, 
but the separation from her old home and her little ones was worse than 
all else. All night she called longingly, hoping her babies might in 
some way hear and come to her. But as human beings can forget, so 
animals can forget easier, and after a time Topsy ceased to call for 
her kids and became well contented. 

Topsy ’s stay on the mountain was not very long, but while there 
she had several interesting experiences. Her first was the milking- 
time. She had never been milked, and did not like this experience at 
all. She behaved so badly that it took two people each time— one to 
hold her head and one to milk her. This continued for some time until 
one day when Topsy ’s master Was gone her mistress decided to see 
what a little switch would do toward making her stand still. It worked 
like a charm, and she learned her lesson sooner than some boys and 
girls do theirs. Ever after that she needed only to see the switch or to 
receive a slight tap, and she was alert at once and ready for obedience. 

Perhaps some one does not know what goats like to eat. Their 
tastes are very strange. Many times Topsy would pass by a lovely 
clover-patch without touching it and go on to feed upon weeds and 
brush. She liked buds and leaves also, and was very fond of oranges. 
She would even make part of a meal at the woodpile on dry twigs and 
bark, or wandering around, would discover choice bits of paper and 
rags and eat them with apparent relish. 

For fear Topsy might wander away and be lost she was kept tied 
with a rope. But she often took walks with the family and seemed to 
enjoy them very much. One day her young mistress accidentally let go 
of the rope, and Topsy went scampering away among the cacti. This 
so frightened her mistress, who feared Topsy would run away, that 
she followed after in swift pursuit, catching the rope and being dragged 
cruelly into the cactus thorns. Topsy meant no harm by this, however ; 
she desired only a little chase for fun like any boy or girl. She proved 


TOPSY 


89 


she did not mean to run away, so after this she was allowed more 
liberty. 

But sometimes she abused her liberty and stole into the house unin- 
vited. She had found where the wheat wlas kept, and since she liked 
wheat very much, she always ran first for the wheat-sack and would 
eat just as greedily of the wheat as she could. One day she found the 
flour instead of the wheat, but this was not so easily eaten as wheat. On 
being driven away, she presented a funny sight! The flour formed 
dough in her mouth and stuck in her jaws, and her face was white with 
the flour. It seemed she ought to laugh with the rest, it was so amusing. 

Sometimes Topsy was invited into the house for a few minutes to 
see the sick girl ; but even then she wias not as well behaved as she should 
have been. If not watched, she would eat the beautiful roses out of the 
vase or put her fore feet on the table to see if there was anything there 
that she would like. 

The higher goats can climb, the better pleased they are, and Topsy 
was not unlike her kind in this respect. Often she would climb upon 
a pile of stones lying in the back yard and feed around and over these 
stones, then lie down to rest on her hard bed and placidly chew her cud. 

' After a time the family moved from the mountain, and Topsy, of 
course, went too. She was led for a distance, but not being able to go 
fast enough, she was then put into the front of the carriage, where she 
rode on to her destination in state. Strange as it may seem, Topsy 
after this really appeared more independent ajnd hard to manage. 
Whether it is possible that this ride could have had any such an effect 
upon her, I can not say; but many people, whom Jesus likens to goats, 
do become independent and haughty when a little honor or favor is 
bestowed upon them. It is a very foolish thing to do, for temporal 
advantages can not really exalt us. True exaltation and worth are in 
character, not in position. 

As it is necessary for people to be clean, so all pets also should be 
clean. Topsy ’s young mistress decided that her pet must have a bath, 
but the bath was given quite differently from the way you take yours. 


90 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


Topsy was tied close to a stake so she could move but little, and then 
the hose wias turned on her. Topsy could not understand the cause 
for this apparently cruel treatment, and so she tried hard to get away. 
But that was useless. She did not know, as we do, that what we can 
not change we should patiently endure. 

After the bath she was tied behind one of the tents. By and by her 
mistress came into the house crying, for Topsy was nowhere to be seen. 
Every one turned out to look for the lost pet. Some one suggested, 
“Perhaps she is in the tent.’’ Sure enough, that is where they found 
her. Surely she did not know that it is customary to go to bed after 
taking a bath, but this is what she had done. There on one of the beds 
in the tent she had curled up and was resting as sweetly and contentedly 
as a child. 

After a time Topsy was taken to a camp-meeting. Her master and 
the family went, and Topsy could not be left at home alone. She did 
not have a very pleasant time at the camp-meeting. Her pasture was 
full of burrs, which became entangled in her long white wool and 
scratched her severely. Some bad boys tried their skill in throwing 
stones at her, and were all too true in hitting their mark. Some boys 
think this kind of sport is fun, but it is cruel, as well as degrading to 
their own character. 

Although the family were very sorry to part with their pet, it be- 
came necessary that Topsy change masters and take another journey. 
She was put into a crate on a hot summer day and sent to the station 
with the baggage that went from the camp-meeting. Poor Topsy ! she 
became very warm and thirsty in the hot sun. A friendly man, seeing 
her distress, tried to give her a drink of water. Surely that was a good 
deed. God, who is kind and pitiful toward all his creatures, desires that 
we too should be. Some people think they can be manly or even Christ- 
like and yet be abusive to their dumb animals, mercilessly beating or 
thoughtlessly and selfishly neglecting them. God’s Word says, “A 
righteous man regarde th the life of his beast.” He cares for his ani- 
mals not alone because there is more profit to him, but because he lias a 


TOPSY 


91 


kind heart and desires to prevent any needless suffering. In Topsy ’s 
new home, her master and mistress were very kind to her; but as they 
had no children, she missed her former playmates. One day she saw 
a young girl going by wthom she thought was her mistress. Topsy 
called longingly to her, but the girl did not know her and did not 
understand what she wanted. 

Near her new home was a ditch in which tender brush and weeds 
grew that very much suited Topsy ’s taste. The ditch, however, was 
too deep for her to climb out of alone ; so when she was ready to come 
out, she always called for help. Her master then would go to her 
and, taking hold of the chain fastened about her neck, would give a 
sharp pull, and with a strong leap Topsy was out on the bank. 

When she was led to the stable, if the door happened to be closed 
she would wait a moment to see if her master would open it; if he did 
not do so at once, she would butt it gently with her head. “That is not 
hard enough, Topsy,” her master would say, and she would step back 
a few feet and give it a hard butt. Then, of course, she was always 
let in. 

In a part of the city distant from where Topsy lived was a boy 
who was pining away with sickness. Topsy was wanted at that home, 
and although her friends had become greatly attached to her, they 
were willing to part with her for the sake of the sick one. This was 
hard for Topsy too, for she could not understand why she must so 
often leave just when she had learned to love her new friends. Never 
mind, Topsy; people too have disappointments, and must learn to 
submit when they can not understand. All useful lives are lives of 
self-sacrifice. Although you are only a dumb animal, Topsy, you have 
been faithful, good, and useful, and we love you. Continue to be so, 
and you will be loved everywhere you go. 


— Anna M. Greeley. 


92 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


Where Was Jack? 

O NE morning when Frank and I were roaming about the woods, 
we came upon a woodchuck’s hole, near an old hollow tree. After 
a great deal of vigorous digging, we brought out a little baby wood- 
chuck, which did not have its eyes open. Frank put it in his coat, at 
the same time remarking, “Our old Tabby shall have a nice dinner 
today of woodchuck.” 

I began to wish something would happen to prevent Tabby from 
having such a dinner as Frank intended, for I had already begun to 
love the little creature; its fur was so soft and brown and it seemed 
so helpless. 

Frank was my cousin, whom I was visiting, and as he was older, I 
disliked very much to ask him not to give it to the cat. Besides, on one 
occasion, when I had tried to protect a kitten the boys were abusing, 
Frank said that he wished I was not so much like a girl. But since 
then I have learned that being kind to the helpless and unprotected 
is a mark of manliness. We have such a character in Abraham Lin- 
coln, who on one occasion spoiled a new suit of clothes by helping a poor 
struggling pig out of the mud. And men who have been most revered 
in history have been most tender to the unfortunate. 

But I did not know these things then, and I could only pray as we 
neared the house that something would save the life of the baby wood- 
chuck. 

We found old Tabby feeding her kittens and Frank placed the wood- 
chuck beside her. But to our surprize, old Tabby began to caress it, 
and then feed it. We were so much amused that we allowed her to 
mother it for a week, and, in the meantime, we named it Jack. 

When my visit was over and I had to return home, I begged Frank 
to give Jack to me, which he reluctantly consented to do. 

I took him home, made a large box for him, and put wire netting 
at the sides. I had to feed him with a spoon, and as soon as his eyes 
were open, he would sit up and hold the spoon in both little paws, and 


WHERE WAS JACK? 


93 


eat bread and milk. Sometimes I would let him out, and he would 
caper about the house in high glee. His special delight was turning 
somersaults, which he would do constantly for ten minutes. Then he 
would whirl himself about the rung of a chair so rapidly that he looked 
like a little gray ball. After these exercises he wlould flatten himself 
out on the floor as if dead, very much resembling a small fur rug. 

Jack was very fond of me, and when I returned after an absence he 
would frisk about me, and seem very happy, and wanted all of my 
attention. 

I kept him, in his box most of the time, but he so often gnawed his 
way out that I lined the box with tin. 

In the fall Jack grew very restless, and one day we missed him. 
“ Where is Jack?” Everybody asked the question, but no one knew 
how to answer it. Jack had never been away from home, and there 
had been no opportunity for any one to steal him. Then, what had 
become of him? It was indeed a mystery. There was nothing else 
missing than an old sunbonnet and apron which had hung in the cellar 
way. I mourned and mourned for Jack, because I had a great affection 
for him. And so the months passed by until February came. 

One day when I came home from school, wiho was sitting on the 
porch to greet me but a thin little Jack! Where do you suppose he 
had been all this time? Well, Jack had burrowed a hole under the 
cellar wall and lined his winter’s nest with the sunbonnet and apron, 
and there he had lived until February. During the summer he grew 
fat and at times was very cross. If he heard a dog bark he would run 
to me in fear, but he had a warm affection for the cat. 

That fall Jack disappeared again. We did not know where he had 
burrowed until spring, when he came out from the house of one of 
the neighbors. 

In my absence from home a bad boy teased him so much that he 
became very cross and bit several people. I was very sorry Jack 
manifested such a spirit. He grew worse as the weather grew warmer, 
and nearly every one was afraid of him. 


94 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


How well I remember the day father said, “Jack must die.” 
Father placed him in a large boot and chloroformed him. It was an 
easy death. We had him stuffed, and lie now sits under the piano, 
almost lifelike. —Pittsburg Christian Advocate. 


An Odd Pet 

J T IS surely a far cry from a chicken to a toad— the little, fluffy ball 

of feathers, so alert or peeping cunningly out from under the shel- 
tering wing of the mother hen ; and the other, squatting so demurely 
in the shade of the plaintain leaf, its warty, brown back scarcely notice- 
able, the wink of its brilliant eye being by far its most attractive fea- 
ture to the ordinary observer. And yet this useful reptile has been 
made a pet. 

A little boy, who was much alone and who took a great deal of in- 
terest in all animated nature, observed, one summer day, a toad catch- 
ing flies. It was by mere accident that he discovered that this was its 
occupation. A beetle had approached the toad, and in an instant had 
disappeaied. At the same time he noticed that the toad was swallow- 
ing something, and he at once reached the conclusion that the beetle 
was furnishing a meal for the toad. He waited to see the operation 
repeated ; but, as no fly or beetle came near to assist the young natural- 
ist in his investigations, he hit upon a plan that not only helped in his 
search for knowledge, but furnished a meal for the toad, and gave him 
a pet the most unique. Observing a number of bluebottle flies gathered 
on a window, he caught one and attached it to a very fine thread and 
fastened it to a stick, like a fisherman’s rod and line. He let it down 
close to the toad’s mouth. In an instant he felt a pull on the thread 
and the fly was gone, but, with the exception of a slight movement in 
the toad’s throat, he saw nothing. The experiment was repeated many 
times with the same result. Each time that lie brought a fly, he whis- 
tled to attract attention, 


NED’S APPRECIATION OF KINDNESS 


95 


The next morning lie looked for the toad, which he had named Ned. 
It was not in the same place as yesterday, but the boy remembered it 
was attracted by the whistle, and so he stood and' called in that way, 
and, strange as it may appear, Ned came hopping toward him and 
received what flies had been caught for his breakfast. The intimacy 
thus begun ripened into friendship. Ned grew, and would always 
come when he heard the whistle, and soon learned to take his food 
without having it attached to a thread. 

Nor was the boy long in discovering that the toad, though so quiet 
and apparently lazy, could hop a yard at a spring, and quickly repeat 
it if necessary. But this was by no means the most interesting feature 
of his new-made acquaintance. When an insect that he desired to cap- 
ture came within reach, he darted out his tongue, covered with a glu- 
tinous matter, with such celerity and returned it to his mouth so quickly 
that it required the closest observation to detect the movement. 


Ned’s Appreciation of Kindness 

ED came to live in our home when he was very little and young 
and unimportant, we all thought; but we learned to love him 
because of his trust and confidence in us, and we soon considered him 
one of our most interesting pets even if he was only a small Maltese 
kitty. 

His perfect trust in humankind was beautiful to see. 

Brother and I were picking apples one day, and Ned would climb up 
in the tree and let us place him in a basket and lower him to the 
ground many feet below by the aid of a rope, and he seemed to enjoy it. 

But the purpose of this story is to tell of his appreciation of kind- 
ness. I wonder as I write if all the boys and girls who read The Shin- 
ing Light have as large an amount of that quality accordingly as he had. 

One day not long after he came to live with us, a strange dog fright- 
ened him into a wood near by, and there he climbed up a very slender 


96 


THINGS THAT HAPPENED 


tree perhaps thirty feet or more. He was so frightened that he was 
afraid to come down. This was early in the afternoon, and he remained 
there till after dark. When I returned from work, I could hear his 
pitiful mews, and when Mother told me he was missing, I started to 
his rescue. I soon found him as I have already described. 

I supposed he would be more frightened than ever if I climbed 
the tree, but it was the only thing to do. So up I went. When I came 
near, he did seem somewhat frightened, but was soon willing to let 
go with his paWs and sit on my shoulder, and we started down. When 
we came near the ground, lie jumped off my shoulder, and I thought 
he would run on home, but he stayed till I came down. Then he rubbed 
against my feet and purred as though his little heart would sing itself 
out for joy. I thought it was the most beautiful “Thank you” I had 
ever heard. 

Ned afterward became larger and was a useful cat, and when we 
sold our home to remove to a Western State, it was a source of real 
sorrow that we had to leave him at the old place. 

—Thadd Mundell. 











1 1 

















% 


































